PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. – The Plattsburgh State women's volleyball team closed out action at the Plattsburgh State Classic on Saturday at Memorial Hall in dramatic fashion, using a reverse sweep to down Elmira College, 3-2 (22-25, 19-25, 25-21, 25-18, 15-10), after topping SUNY Poly, 3-0 (25-9, 25-19, 25-10) earlier in the day.
 
The Cardinals, who were the only unbeaten team on the weekend at the Plattsburgh State Classic, rise to 3-3 overall with the wins and next compete at the Union/Russell Sage Crosstown Challenge from Friday-Saturday, Sept. 16-17, beginning with a 6 p.m. match against Cazenovia College on Friday. SUNY Poly falls to 0-6 with the loss, while Elmira drops to 5-3 with the setback.
 
Plattsburgh State 3, SUNY Poly 0 (25-9, 25-19, 25-10)
 
Plattsburgh State began the day with a straight-set sweep of SUNY Poly, hitting .289 for the match while owning the upper hand in service aces (18-1). Both teams finished with 32 digs, while the Wildcats had the match's lone block.
 
While the Cardinals scored the first two points of the match, the Wildcats cut the gap to one on a kill by senior outside hitter/middle hitter Emma Draper. Plattsburgh State answered with six straight points, and a termination by junior outside hitter Payton Zophy (Clifton Park, N.Y./Shenendehowa) extended the Cardinal advantage to 8-1. The Cardinals scored at least three consecutive points on four occasions down the stretch to take a 25-9 win in the first.
 
SUNY Poly turned the tables in the early going of the second set, jumping out to a 5-1 lead. Plattsburgh State regained the advantage on the strength of a 5-0 run, during which junior defensive specialist/libero Andraya Warner-Davis (Queensbury, N.Y./Queensbury) landed a pair of service aces. The two teams traded points until a 5-0 Cardinal surge, which included three kills from senior right side Jenn Braun (Garrison, N.Y./Walter Panas), opened up a 17-13 Plattsburgh State advantage. While the Wildcats pulled within two at 21-19, the Cardinals pulled away and claimed the second stanza, 25-19.
 
After back-and-forth play marked the beginning of the third set, Plattsburgh State rattled off seven unanswered points, and a pair of kills from first-year outside hitter Maggie Lyon (Ballston Spa, N.Y./Ballston Spa) staked the Cardinals to a 14-5 cushion. SUNY Poly countered with three straight points, while a 7-0 Plattsburgh State tear in response gave the Cardinals the momentum for good. Plattsburgh State clinched the match with a 25-10 triumph in the third.
 
Braun keyed the Cardinal attack with 10 kills on 16 swings for a .625 hitting percentage, while Lyon fashioned a .538 attack percentage on eight kills and one error in 13 attempts. Junior setter Emma Rivers (Nesconset, N.Y./Smithtown West) and first-year student Kyleigh Ganz (Phoenix, Ariz./Seton Catholic Prep) combined for 29 assists, while first-year defensive specialist Madison Bolinger (Tolleson, Ariz./University) led the back row defensively with eight digs.
 
For SUNY Poly, junior setter Ryan Fitzgerald tallied seven kills and six digs.
 
Plattsburgh State 3, Elmira 2 (22-25, 19-25, 25-21, 25-18, 15-10)
 
In what wound up being the Cardinals' greatest show of resiliency so far in 2022, Plattsburgh State weathered losses in the first two sets before winning the third, fourth and fifth to hand Elmira a five-set defeat.
 
The Cardinals hit .124 for the match and owned a 67-62 advantage in digs. Elmira posted a 10-5 edge in service aces and outblocked Plattsburgh State, 8-6. The Soaring Eagles were limited to .064 hitting, which included a -.061 mark in the third set and a .000 hitting percentage in the fourth.
 
Elmira opened the first set by taking a 5-1 lead, while a Braun kill and a pair of Soaring Eagle attacking errors cut the gap to one. The two sides traded points until Elmira went on a 6-2 tear and took a 15-9 advantage. Plattsburgh State clawed back with a 5-0 spurt that was capped off by a block assist by Zophy and first-year middle hitter Jeannette Ashong (Poughkeepsie, N.Y./Arlington), and the Cardinals eventually drew within one following a Zophy termination and two Soaring Eagle hitting miscues. Elmira opened up some separation by taking a 23-20 lead, but a service error and a Braun kill pulled the Cardinals within one. The Soaring Eagles closed out the set with kills by senior right side Amelia Martin and sophomore middle hitter/right side Samantha Garry, claiming the first, 25-22.
 
The second set began as a stanza of runs, as Elmira hopped out to a 10-5 lead before a 10-1 Cardinal tear pinned Plattsburgh State to a 15-11 cushion. The Soaring Eagles scored five straight points to take the lead back and never trailed from that point forward in the second. First-year outside hitter/right side Sanaia Estime (West Hempstead, N.Y./West Hempstead) broke up the surge with a kill, but Elmira scored nine of the set's final 12 points to take the second set, 25-19.
 
Elmira appeared destined for a straight-set sweep in the third, using a 6-0 run to construct an 11-6 edge. A small run kept the Soaring Eagles in front 15-8, and the momentum seesawed between the two teams before Elmira took an 18-11 lead. Plattsburgh State won five straight points, and a kill by graduate student right side Kaitlyn Bjelko (Plattsburgh, N.Y./Beekmantown) drew the Cardinals within two at 18-16. The two teams traded points until the momentum swung fully in Plattsburgh State's direction with a match-defining six-point tear. Estime ignited that run, accounting for three kills. While an attacking error ultimately gave Elmira the serve back at 23-21 in favor of Plattsburgh State, a Braun kill and a Soaring Eagle attacking error forced a fourth set with a 25-21 Cardinal win in the third.
 
The Cardinals opened up the fourth with leads of 8-5 and 10-6, but the Soaring Eagles stormed back with five unanswered points to seize an 11-10 edge. The two sides traded points until Plattsburgh State went up for good with a six unanswered points; Zophy capped off that surge with a kill. While Elmira scored three of the next five points, a kill by Ashong and two Soaring Eagle attacking errors handed Plattsburgh State a 25-18 victory in the fourth.
 
The result of the fifth set was largely sealed by the Cardinals gaining separation early on in the stanza, as a 5-1 run that Zophy punctuated with a kill gave Plattsburgh State a 6-2 advantage. Elmira scored the next two points before a Ganz kill and three Zophy terminations put the Cardinals out in front, 10-4. The Soaring Eagles eventually pulled within three at 13-10, but an Elmira setting error and a Rivers ace gave the Cardinals a 15-10 match-clinching triumph in the fifth.
 
Zophy tied a career high in kills with 13, and she completed the double-double with 19 digs. Braun finished with 10 kills, while Bolinger defended 18 digs. Rivers and Ganz each handed out 21 assists, while Ashong dominated at the net defensively with five total blocks (one solo, four assist).
 
For Elmira, Garry led the way with 13 kills and a .440 hitting percentage, while sophomore setter/right side Asia Curkendall distributed 24 assists. Defensively, senior libero/defensive specialist Gianna Pezzino tallied 18 digs, while Garry contributed five block assists.