FREDONIA, N.Y. – The Plattsburgh State women's volleyball team nearly forced a decisive fifth set but wound up falling, 3-1 (25-19, 25-19, 24-26, 26-24), to Fredonia in State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) action Saturday afternoon at Dods Hall.
 
The Blue Devils hit at a .202 clip for the match and owned a 12-6 edge in service aces and a 73-72 cushion in digs. The Cardinals were superior defensively at the net, posting six blocks to Fredonia's four.
 
Senior right side Jenn Braun (Garrison, N.Y./Walter Panas) keyed the Plattsburgh State attack with 13 kills and a .344 hitting percentage, while first-year setter/right side Kyleigh Ganz (Phoenix, Ariz./Seton Catholic Prep) and junior setter Emma Rivers (Nesconset, N.Y./Smithtown West) each handed out 15 assists. Defensively, junior defensive specialist/libero Shannon Fitzpatrick (Westtown, N.Y./Rhinebeck) defended 16 digs, while Ganz and first-year middle hitter Jeannette Ashong (Poughkeepsie, N.Y./Arlington) each tallied three blocks.
 
For Fredonia, sophomore outside hitters Gabrielle Sordetto and Amaya Lewczyk each floored 11 kills, while junior setter/outside hitter Kourtney Krchniak distributed 38 assists, defended 14 digs and served up four aces. Junior libero Elora Sherman registered a match-high 19 digs.
 
Plattsburgh State falls to 4-11 overall (0-6 SUNYAC) with the loss and next hosts SUNY Brockport on Friday, Oct. 14, at 6 p.m. Fredonia rises to 4-14 overall (2-3 SUNYAC) with the win and next visits SUNY New Paltz on Friday, Oct. 14, at 6 p.m.
 
In the first set, Plattsburgh State used a 3-0 run late to pull within three, as a block assist by first-year outside hitter Maggie Lyon (Ballston Spa, N.Y./Ballston Spa) and Ashong cut the gap to 22-19. The Blue Devils scored the final three points of the stanza, however, to claim the first, 25-19.
 
The Cardinals relied on kills by Braun and graduate student middle hitter Alicia Fisher (Brooklyn, N.Y./Science Skills), a Fredonia setting error and a Fredonia attacking error to build a 4-1 lead early in the second set, but the Blue Devils scored four unanswered points to take a 5-4 advantage. Plattsburgh State took the lead back and led by as many as three points on two occasions, but a 5-0 Fredonia run midway through the stanza gave the Blue Devils a lead they would never relinquish, as the home team claimed the second set by a 25-19 score.
 
Fredonia took a 7-1 advantage to start the third and continued to hold off Plattsburgh State, taking a 21-15 lead on a kill by Lewczyk. Back-to-back Braun kills capped a 5-0 surge for the Cardinals to draw within one, and while each team sided each other out up until Fredonia brought up match point, Plattsburgh State scored four unanswered points to end the set, with a Ganz kill handing the Cardinals the third, 26-24.
 
While the Blue Devils held the momentum in the early going of the fourth, the Cardinals recorded four unanswered points on the strength of two Fitzpatrick service aces, a Fredonia hitting error and a block by Braun and Ashong to tie the score at 16-all. The two teams traded points, and back-to-back kills by Braun handed Plattsburgh State a 24-23 lead. Fredonia wound up winning the next three rallies to clinch the match with a 26-24 triumph in the fourth.