PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. – Despite winning the first set and nearly pulling off a comeback in the second, the Plattsburgh State women's volleyball team fell, 3-1 (21-25, 25-21, 25-13, 25-17), to SUNY Oneonta in State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) action Friday evening at Memorial Hall.
 
While the Cardinals hit at a .255 clip through the first two sets, Oneonta's defense clamped down in the third and fourth stanzas, keeping Plattsburgh State at .042 hitting for the match. The Red Dragons hit .182 and held the upper hand in service aces (11-6), blocks (6-5) and digs (58-51).
 
Plattsburgh State falls to 4-8 overall (0-3 SUNYAC) with the loss and hosts SUNY New Paltz tomorrow at 1 p.m. on Senior Day. Prior to the start of the match, the Cardinals will honor senior Jenn Braun (Garrison, N.Y./Walter Panas) and graduate students Alicia Fisher (Brooklyn, N.Y./Science Skills) and Kaitlyn Bjelko (Plattsburgh, N.Y./Beekmantown). Oneonta rises to 6-7 overall (1-3 SUNYAC) with the win and visits SUNY Potsdam tomorrow at 12 p.m.
 
The two teams traded points in the early going of the first set before a kill by first-year setter/right side Kyleigh Ganz (Phoenix, Ariz./Seton Catholic Prep) and two Red Dragon attacking errors gave the Cardinals a 14-11 lead. While Oneonta eventually tied the score at 18-all following a 4-1 surge, three consecutive Red Dragon miscues put Plattsburgh State out in front, 21-18. After Oneonta cut the gap to one, a Red Dragon hitting error and two Ganz terminations opened the Cardinal lead up to 24-20. While Oneonta staved off set point with a kill from senior middle hitter Clara Culeton, a Red Dragon service error gave Plattsburgh State the first set, 25-21.
 
Plattsburgh State stayed within striking distance in the early stages of the second set, but six consecutive Oneonta points broke open an 18-8 advantage for the visitors. The Cardinals stopped the run with a kill by Fisher and added another point on a Red Dragon hitting error, but a 5-1 Oneonta tear put the Red Dragons on top, 23-11. Plattsburgh State nearly came all the way back, relying on a 10-1 surge to pull within four. Braun and Fisher capped the run with a block assist to draw the Cardinals within four at 24-21. Oneonta's junior middle hitter Ashanti Davis floored the set-clinching point on the ensuing rally, however, to tie the match at 1-all.
 
Oneonta never trailed in the third set, hitting .207 en route to a 25-13 victory in the stanza. Plattsburgh State appeared poised early in the fourth to be in a position to force a deciding fifth set, as the Cardinals reversed a 7-5 deficit into a 10-8 lead on the strength of a 5-1 tear. While the Red Dragons opened up a 13-11 advantage, a kill by first-year outside hitter Maggie Lyon (Ballston Spa, N.Y./Ballston Spa), a service ace by junior setter Emma Rivers (Nesconset, N.Y./Smithtown West) and a block assist by Ganz and Fisher gave the Cardinals the lead back. Following a Plattsburgh State hitting error, an Oneonta service error and a Lyon ace pinned the home team to a 16-14 cushion, but the Red Dragons scored 11 of the set's final 12 points to clinch the match with a 25-17 triumph in the fourth.
 
Ganz led the offense with nine kills and eight assists, while Fisher, first-year middle hitter Jeannette Ashong (Poughkeepsie, N.Y./Arlington) and Lyon each floored five terminations. Rivers had a 10-assist, 10-dig double-double, while Fisher tallied five total blocks (one solo, four assist). Lyon finished with a career-high 12 digs to lead the back row defensively.
 
For Oneonta, Culeton and Davis each landed 10 kills, while senior setter Kayla Rende distributed 39 assists. junior outside hitter Karli Chamberlin and sophomore defensive specialist Annalisa Alicea each defended 15 digs, while Davis posted four total blocks (two solo, two assist). At the service line, Alicea served up five aces.
 
Prior to the start of the match, the program held a ceremony honoring the 50th anniversary of Title IX.