SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – The Plattsburgh State women's volleyball team dropped its first match of the season on Friday evening at Skidmore College's Williamson Sports Center, falling to Alfred University, 3-0 (26-24, 25-19, 25-18), to kick off the Skidmore Classic.
 
Alfred outhit Plattsburgh State, .128-to-.073, and held the upper hand in service aces (9-3). The Cardinals owned a 63-54 edge in digs and a 5-2 advantage in blocks.
 
First-year outside hitter Liya Girma (Sachse, Texas/Bishop Lynch) led Plattsburgh State with eight kills and 10 digs, while the State University of New York Athletic Conference's (SUNYAC's) reigning Women's Volleyball Defensive Athlete of the Week, senior libero Payton Zophy (Clifton Park, N.Y./Shenendehowa), defended 24 digs.
 
For Alfred, sophomore outside hitter Taylor Malone floored 10 kills, while sophomore setter Delaney Sims distributed 26 assists and recorded 14 digs to complete the double-double.
 
After a 4-0 run staked Plattsburgh State to an 18-15 lead in the first, Alfred scored three unanswered points to knot the tally at 18-all. The Cardinals extended its advantage to two on a pair of occasions down the stretch, the last of which came when a kill by sophomore middle hitter Jeannette Ashong (Poughkeepsie, N.Y./Arlington) put Plattsburgh State in front, 22-20. The Saxons wound up scoring six of the set's final eight points to claim the first, 26-24.
 
Alfred opened up a 9-4 cushion early in the second set, and while Plattsburgh State drew within two at 18-16 following a Girma kill and a block assist by first-year middle hitter Katie Salphine (Le Roy, N.Y./Le Roy) and sophomore setter/right side Kyleigh Ganz (Phoenix, Ariz./Seton Catholic Prep), Alfred rattled off five consecutive points and ended up prevailing, 25-19, in the second.
 
The third set went Alfred's way from the outset, with the Saxons jumping out to a 13-3 lead. The Cardinals relied on a 5-0 run late in the set—which Girma ignited with a pair of kills—but ultimately ran out of room as the Saxons posted a match-clinching 25-18 triumph in the third.