SYRACUSE, N.Y. – Senior libero/outside hitter Payton Zophy (Clifton Park, N.Y. / Shenendehowa) of the Plattsburgh State women's volleyball team was selected for the 2023 All-State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) Second Team, as announced by the conference office on Tuesday.
 
Zophy's selection is the first All-SUNYAC honor for the women's volleyball program since 2019 when former Cardinal Michelle Simmons earned third-team recognition.
 
Zophy was one of the conference's best back-row defenders in 2023, as she led the conference in total digs with 512 and digs per set with 5.57.  Her digs per set this season was a new program record, as she surpassed the previous mark of 4.99 set by Ashley Walters in 2003. She also set a new program record for digs per set for her career with 4.61. This season, she also eclipsed the 1,000 dig mark, finishing her career with 1,087 digs in just three seasons. Over the season she had some outstanding performances, tallying a career-high 38 digs against Brockport on Sept. 29, before blowing past that career-best mark on Oct. 20 with 47 digs against Oneonta.
 
Plattsburgh State went 12-13 overall (3-6 SUNYAC) in 2023, qualifying for the SUNYAC Tournament for the first time since 2013.
 
The full all-conference teams can be found here. Cortland swept all of the major awards, with Anna Pilkey winning Player of the Year, Mikenzie Martens earning Defensive Player of the Year, Kira Pirrera being named Rookie of the Year, and then the Red Dragons head coach Erin Glickert earning Coach of the Year.