BROCKPORT, N.Y. – Despite a come-from-behind win in the second set and a career-high 38 digs by senior libero Payton Zophy (Clifton Park, N.Y./Shenendehowa), the Plattsburgh State women's volleyball team dropped a 3-1 (25-16, 28-30, 25-22, 25-14) decision to SUNY Brockport in the State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) opener for both teams on Friday evening at the Jim and John Vlogianitis Gymnasium.
 
The Golden Eagles hit .144 (56-30-180) for the match and held the upper hand in service aces (12-3) and digs (94-81), but the Cardinals owned a 6-5 advantage in blocks.
 
Plattsburgh State falls to 7-5 overall (0-1 SUNYAC) with the loss and next visits SUNY Geneseo tomorrow at 1 p.m. Brockport rises to 5-8 overall (1-0 SUNYAC) with the win and hosts SUNY Potsdam tomorrow at 1 p.m.
 
First-year outside hitter Liya Girma (Sachse, Texas/Bishop Lynch) led the offense with nine kills, while first-year right side Darby Collyear (Rockwall, Texas/Rockwall) chipped in with eight terminations. Senior setter Emma Rivers (Nesconset, N.Y./Smithtown West) dished out 15 assists and served up two aces, while Girma defended 12 digs in addition to Zophy's career- and match-high 38. Sophomore middle hitter Jeannette Ashong (Poughkeepsie, N.Y./Arlington) fortified the front row defensively with four block assists.
 
For Brockport, senior right side Jordan Thompson landed 15 kills, while junior outside hitter Leah Vitello and sophomore outside hitter Alexis Sison registered 10 terminations apiece. Thompson completed the double-double with 17 digs, while first-year setter Kaitlyn Jewett handed out 46 assists. First-year defensive specialist Elsie Logan keyed the Golden Eagles' efforts defensively with 24 digs.
 
The two teams battled back and forth early in the first set, and a 3-0 run that was capped off by a block assist by sophomore outside hitter Maggie Lyon (Ballston Spa, N.Y./Ballston Spa) and Ashong handed the Cardinals a 9-8 lead. Brockport took a 15-9 edge on the strength of seven unanswered points and cruised to a 25-16 win in the opening stanza.
 
Brockport appeared in command of the second set, capping off a 4-0 tear with a block assist to seize a 23-18 lead. The Cardinals then went on a 6-1 surge, with four of those points coming with set point on the line, and a block assist by Ashong and Lyon tied the score at 24-all. Both teams traded points before a kill by Collyear and a Golden Eagle setting error gave the Cardinals a 27-26 edge, and after the serve changed hands three times, a Collyear kill and a block assist by Girma and first-year middle hitter Katarina Wagner (Seattle, Wash./Foxcroft School [Va.]) sealed a 30-28 triumph for Plattsburgh State in the second.
 
The Cardinals once again mounted a comeback in the third set, pulling within one at 19-18 with six unanswered points. Plattsburgh State tied the score at 21-all following a service error and an attacking error, but Brockport scored four of the set's final five points to win the third, 25-22.
 
The Golden Eagles never trailed in the fourth set, jumping out to an 8-2 advantage. Ashong pounded down back-to-back kills midway through the frame to draw the Cardinals within four at 15-11, but six straight Brockport points gave the Golden Eagles the separation they needed to post a 25-14 match-clinching victory in the fourth.