PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. – Sophomore outside hitter
Liya Girma (Sachse, Texas/Bishop Lynch) registered a match-high 12 kills, but the Plattsburgh State women's volleyball team dropped a 3-0 (25-15, 25-18, 25-17) decision to SUNY Oneonta on Senior Day Saturday at Memorial Hall in the State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) finale for both teams.
Prior to the start of the match, the Cardinals honored their lone senior: junior defensive specialist
Lexi Carfi (Syracuse, N.Y./Liverpool).
The Red Dragons hit .323 (36-5-96) for the match while limiting the Cardinals to .095 (29-20-95) hitting. Oneonta outgained Plattsburgh State in service aces (10-4) and blocks (4-0), but the Cardinals held a 46-40 advantage in digs.
Plattsburgh State falls to 4-21 overall (0-9 SUNYAC) with the loss and wraps up its season on Friday, Nov. 8, at 5 p.m. when it hosts Skidmore College. Oneonta rises to 9-17 overall (2-7 SUNYAC) with the win and finishes its 2024 campaign on Nov. 9 at 1 p.m. against Hartwick College.
The Red Dragons constructed an early 6-1 lead in the first set, and while Plattsburgh State twice went on 3-0 tears, Oneonta cruised to a 25-15 victory in the opening stanza.
Plattsburgh State reversed a 9-6 deficit in the second set, relying on a 6-0 run to turn the tables. Carfi capped off the surge with a kill to pin the home team to a 12-9 advantage. The Cardinals continued to hold off the Red Dragons until the visitors closed the set on a 10-2 run to claim the second, 25-18.
The Cardinals scored four of the first five points of the third set, with Girma, junior outside hitter
Maggie Lyon (Ballston Spa, N.Y./Ballston Spa) and sophomore right side
Darby Collyear (Rockwall, Texas/Rockwall) each notching kills. While the Red Dragons tied the score at 4-all, an Oneonta service error and a service ace by junior right side
Melina Morillo (Bronx, N.Y./Bronx Latin) gave Plattsburgh State a 6-4 edge. The Cardinals continued to lead until Oneonta scored four unanswered points midway through the frame, and Plattsburgh State was unable to score consecutive points down the stretch in a 25-17 setback in the third.
Beyond Girma, Carfi contributed to the Cardinals' cause with seven kills and seven digs, while junior setter
Kyleigh Ganz (Phoenix, Ariz./Seton Catholic Prep) distributed 22 assists. Sophomore libero
KC Burke (Murrieta, Calif./Northfield Mount Hermon [Mass.]) defended a match-high 12 digs to reinforce the back row defensively.
Oneonta's first-year middle blocker Shea Landversicht led the way with eight kills (.438 hitting percentage) and three total blocks (one solo, two assist), while junior libero Anna Moller and first-year setter Hailey Herrera finished with 11 and 10 digs, respectively. Herrera completed the double-double with 19 assists.