CANTON, N.Y. – The Plattsburgh State women's volleyball team dropped a pair of matches at the St. Lawrence Tri-Match, falling to RIT 3-2 (25-20, 25-22, 18-25, 20-25, 9-15) in a five-set battle, before dropping a 3-0 (18-25, 19-25, 21-25) decision to host St. Lawrence on Saturday evening. 

Plattsburgh State moves to 3-11 overall and are back in action on Friday, Oct. 4 as they play their first State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) match of the season at Fredonia at 6 p.m. RIT moves to 13-5 overall and next hosts Alfred State on Friday, Oct. 4 while St. Lawrence moves to 2-11 overall and are back in action on Friday, Oct. 4 as well with a match at Skidmore.

RIT 3, Plattsburgh State 2 (25-20, 25-22, 18-25, 20-25, 9-15)

The Cardinals fell in a hard-fought five-set match while hitting .168 for the match with 47 kills. The Tigers owned a 16-12 edge in aces and had a 7-6 advantage in blocks. The Cardinals had 60 digs while the Tigers had 58.

Two Cardinals were in double figures in kills, with sophomore outside hitter Liya Girma (Sachse, Texas / Bishop Lynch) leading the way with 16 followed by sophomore outside hitter Iris Mulvey (Middle Island, N.Y. / Longwood) with 10. Girma had 16 digs on the day posting her fourth double-double of the season. Junior defensive specialist Bridget Ryan (Mattituck, N.Y. / Mattituck) also had 16 digs as well while first-year setter Anabella Almeida (Pine Bush, N.Y. / Pine Bush) had 16 assists. Sophomore middle blocker Katie Salphine (Le Roy, N.Y. / Le Roy) had a career-high five blocks while sophomore right-side hitter Darby Collyear (Rockwall, Texas / Rockwall) had a career-high four blocks.

For the Tigers, Samantha Cox led the way with 16 kills followed by Mia Gerber with 14. Sydney Neff had a game-high 37 assists while Hailey Blixt had 16 digs.

After a kill from Cox opened the first set, the Cardinals went on a 6-0 run led by four kills from Collyear that gave them an early 6-1 lead. The Tigers didn't take long to respond and went on a run of their own and made the score 6-5 Cardinals. A service ace from Madison Macko tied the game at 7 before the Cardinals went on a 7-0 run capped off with a kill from Girma that made the score 14-7 Cardinals. Another run for the Cardinals extended their lead to 22-15 as they went on to win 25-20 after a kill from Girma assisted by Kyleigh Ganz (Phoenix, Ari. / Seton Catholic Prep) secured a first-set win.

This second set saw multiple ties as neither team jumped out to a huge lead. The Tigers put the first points on the board, but the Cardinals quickly responded and made the opening score 1 all. After multiple lead changes, an attacking error from the Cardinals and a service ace from Macko made the score 9-7 Tigers. The Cardinals kept the score close throughout and tied it at 13 after a kill from Ganz. Back-to-back points from the Tigers gave them a 15-13 lead but a 5-0 run from the Cardinals gave them an 18-15 lead they didn't give back. A kill from Lilo Gerald-Emesih tied the game at 21 momentarily before the Cardinals outscored the Tigers 3-1 to end the set and win 25-22.

The Tigers opened the third set with a 5-2 lead after a kill from Cox. The Tigers controlled this set at the start and a 4-0 run extended their lead to 14-8. Another run from the Tigers made the score 17-9 but a kill from Girma started a 4-0 run for the Cardinals that made the score 18-14 and put them back in the game. A 3-0 run from the Tigers made the score 21-14 en route to their 25-18 third set victory.

The fourth set started with a back-and-forth battle as the Tigers opened up a 9-6 lead. Two kills from Mulvey and a service ace from Almeida led a 3-0 run for the Cardinals that made the score 11-10. The Tigers responded with a 5-0 run and extended their lead to 17-13. The Cardinals battled back after two service aces from Ryan made the score 17-16 as the Cardinals came within one, but the Tigers kept the lead and went on to win 25-20 forcing a fifth set.

A kill from Girma and an attacking error from the Tigers put the Cardinals ahead 3-2 to start the fifth and final set. A 3-0 run from the Tigers gave them a 7-4 lead and back-to-back points from the Cardinals made the score 10-8 Tigers. The Tigers controlled the rest of the set after a service error made the score 12-9 Tigers, they went on to score three straight and win 15-9 securing a 3-2 match victory.

St. Lawrence 3, Plattsburgh State 0 (18-25, 19-25, 21-25)

The Cardinals had a 5-2 advantage in blocks and a slight edge in digs 37-36. The Saints hit a solid .289 for the match and had an 11-9 advantage in service aces en route to a 3-0 victory.

Girma led the Cardinal attack with seven kills followed by Mulvey with five. Ryan picked up 11 digs on the back row for the Cardinals while junior outside hitter Melina Morillo (Bronx, N.Y. / Bronx Latin) had nine. Ganz and Almedia both had six assists while Ganz also had three blocks to lead all players.

For the Saints, Araiza Acum-Santos led all players in kills with 12. Vanessa Latam led all players in assists with 31 while Kori Meissner finished the match with 11 digs.

The Cardinals opened up a 12-10 lead in the first set but a 4-0 run for the Saints gave them a 14-12 lead. A service error stopped the Saints' run momentarily but right after that they went on a 5-0 run and extended their lead to 19-13. After trading points back and forth multiple times, a kill from Ganz made the score 23-18 Saints and the Saints went on to win 25-18 after back-to-back kills ended the set.

Back-to-back service aces from Mulvey gave the Cardinals a 3-1 lead to start the second set. After a kill from Girma, the Saints went on a 4-0 run and took an 11-7 lead. The Cardinals responded with a 4-0 run of their own led by two service aces from Almeida that tied the score at 11. Another run from the Saints made the score 15-12 Saints and gave them the lead for good. After a service ace from Bridget Gammons the Saints pushed their lead to 19-13. A kill from Mulvey made the score 20-17 Saints and brought the Cardinals within three but the Saints offense responded in turn as they eventually won the second set 25-19.

The Cardinals played their best set in the third but fell 25-21. After a service ace from Almeida followed by a service error opened the third set at 1 all back-to-back points from the Saints gave them a 5-3 lead. A kill from KC Burke (Murrieta, Calif. / Northfield Mount Hermon) gave the Cardinals a 7-6 lead momentarily but a 4-0 run from the Saints made the score 10-7 as they regained the lead. A 3-0 run for the Cardinals capped off by a service ace from Almeida tied the game at 13 and then a 4-0 run for the Cardinals gave them an 18-15 lead. The Saints battled back and tied the game at 18, 19, and 20 before ending the set with a 5-1 run as they won the final set 25-21 and secured a 3-0 victory.