CANTON, N.Y. – The Plattsburgh State women's volleyball team went on an 8-1 run to close the third set, sealing the Cardinals' 3-0 (25-13, 25-9, 26-24) victory over Hilbert College at the North Country Classic on Friday evening at SUNY Canton's Roos House.
 
Hilbert reversed a 14-13 Plattsburgh State lead in the third set thanks to a 7-1 surge, taking a 20-15 advantage on back-to-back Cardinal attacking errors. The Hawks kept inching closer to 25 points as the two teams sided each other out, but kills by first-year outside hitter Liya Girma (Sachse, Texas/Bishop Lynch) and sophomore right side Kyleigh Ganz (Phoenix, Ariz./Seton Catholic Prep) and two hitting miscues by Hilbert drew Plattsburgh State within one at 23-22. The Hawks brought up set point on a kill by junior middle hitter Maria Spinelli, while the Cardinals closed the match with four unanswered points, with first-year middle hitter Katarina Wagner (Seattle, Wash./Foxcroft School [Va.]) delivering the match-winning point with a kill.
 
Plattsburgh State rises to 5-2 overall with the win and closes out action at the North Country Classic tomorrow, squaring off with Wells College (12 p.m.) and host Canton (4 p.m.). Hilbert falls to 4-5 overall with the loss and takes on SUNY Potsdam (12 p.m.) and Northern Vermont University Johnson (2 p.m.) tomorrow afternoon at Potsdam's Maxcy Hall.
 
The first two sets lacked the drama of the third stanza. A 6-1 tear in the first set that included two kills and a service ace by Girma put Plattsburgh State up, 15-7, and the Cardinals wound up cruising to a 25-13 triumph in the opening frame. Plattsburgh State then started the second set with nine straight points, relying on a strong performance at the service line from first-year defensive specialist Katie Rachwal (Plymouth, Mich./Salem) that saw her land two aces. The Cardinals claimed the second set by a 25-9 score.
 
Plattsburgh State dominated the stat sheet, hitting .219 as a team while limiting Hilbert to a .000 attacking percentage on the evening. The Cardinals owned a 12-2 edge in service aces and a 53-42 advantage in digs, while the Hawks held a slim 4-3 margin in blocks.
 
Girma fashioned a sizzling .625 hitting percentage on 11 kills and one error in 16 total attempts, while Ganz and senior setter Emma Rivers (Nesconset, N.Y./Smithtown West) combined for 28 assists in the Cardinals' 6-2 offense. Senior libero Payton Zophy (Clifton Park, N.Y./Shenendehowa) upped her State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) lead in digs per set to 5.42 with 20 digs on the evening and finished with a .947 reception percentage, committing just one receiving error in 19 reception attempts.
 
For Hilbert, sophomore right side Michaela Rice led the way with six kills, while junior libero Natalie Ruhlman defended 16 digs.