CASTLETON, Vt. – The Plattsburgh State women's volleyball team dropped a 3-2 (26-24, 17-25, 25-21, 16-25, 18-16) decision to host Vermont State University (VTSU) Castleton before bouncing back with a 3-0 (25-23, 27-25, 25-16) sweep against Fisher to close out their trip to Castleton, Vt. on Saturday evening.

Plattsburgh State moves to 3-5 with the split and is back in action on Tuesday, Sept. 16, when the team travels to Division II Saint Michael's for a 7 p.m. match. VTSU-Caslteton rises to 6-2 with the win and is back in action today against Fisher. Fisher falls to 3-1 with the loss and closes out the day against host VTSU-Castleton.

VTSU-Castleton 3, Plattsburgh State 2 (26-24, 17-25, 25-21, 16-25, 18-16)

In what was a back-and-forth affair, after splitting the first four sets, the Spartans just edged out the Cardinals in the fifth set for a 3-2 match victory.

The Cardinals had three players notch double-digit kills, led by junior Iris Mulvey (Middle Island, N.Y. / Longwood) with a career-high 16 kills to pair with career-high 14 digs for a double-double. Junior Liya Girma (Sachse, Texas / Bishop Lynch) was next in kills with 14 and had 10 digs for a double-double just falling short of a triple-double, pounding down a career-high nine service aces. Junior Darby Collyear (Rockwall, Texas / Rockwall) had 11 kills, and sophomore Anabella Almeida (Pine Bush, N.Y. / Pine Bush) keyed the Cardinal attack with a career-high 30 assists. Defensively, senior Bridget Ryan (Mattituck, N.Y. / Mattituck) led the charge with a career-high 28 digs, while senior Melina Morillo (Bronx, N.Y. / Bronx Latin) had a career-high five total blocks.

For the Spartans, Brianna Walsh led the team in kills with 11, Alondra Rojas led the team in assists with 29, and Nicolette Vaughn led the team in digs with 22.

The Cardinals owned the advantage in digs (77-64), aces (19-13), and blocks (7-3). For the match, the Cardinals hit .168% while the Spartans were .154%.

The first set began with an 8-2 Cardinal lead after an 8-0 outburst featuring three service aces from Girma and two kills from Mulvey. After a 5-0 run cut the Cardinals' lead to two, Plattsburgh continued to cushion their lead until a 10-0 run gave the Spartans a 23-19 lead. The Cardinals battled back and tied the match at 24, but the Spartans scored the next two points for a 26-24 set win.

After back-and-forth play saw the second set tied at 11, Plattsburgh used multiple runs, including a 6-0 surge capped off by a service ace from Almeida to take a 21-13 lead. The Cardinals stayed in control the rest of the way, winning the second set 25-17.

The Cardinals jumped ahead early, 9-2, thanks to five points from Girma in a 9-0 rally, but the Spartans got back in the game using 4-0 and 6-0 runs to take a 19-18 lead. Plattsburgh tied the game at 19 courtesy of a block by Collyear, but the Spartans outscored the Cardinals 6-2 and took the third set 25-21.

The fourth set was all Plattsburgh as the Cardinals pulled away using multiple runs to take a 19-9 lead. The Spartans tried to build some momentum, but a 3-0 surge that saw kills from Mulvey and Katie Salphine (Le Roy, N.Y. / Le Roy) put the game out of reach as Plattsburgh went on to win 25-16.

Both teams had leads early in the fifth and final set as Plattsburgh jumped out to a 7-3 lead before the Spartans used a 7-0 run to take a 10-7 lead. The Cardinals kept themselves in the game after a 4-0 run, with two kills from Girma, gave them a 13-12 lead. The two teams continued to trade points until the Spartans scored the final three points of the set to win 18-16 and secure a 3-2 match victory.

Plattsburgh State 3, Fisher 0 (25-23, 27-25, 25-16)

After dropping a five-set thriller against host VTSU-Castleton, the Cardinals looked to bounce back against Fisher. After two competitive sets went the way of Plattsburgh, the Cardinals closed the door in the third set for a 3-0 sweep against the Falcons.

Girma paced the Cardinal offense and defense with 12 kills and 10 digs, while Almeida and first-year Emily O'Brien (Monroe, N.Y. / Monroe-Woodbury) set up the Cardinal attack with 18 and 15 assists, respectively. Up top, Collyear contributed two blocks while Salphine stuffed one.

For the Falcons, Jeiris Velez led the team in kills with nine, Alondra Farinacci led the team in assists with 22, and Sofia Campos led the team in digs with 17.

The Cardinals had the edge in blocks (2-0), but the Falcons had the advantage in digs (45-37) and aces (14-9). For the match, the Cardinals hit a solid .286% compared to .103% from the Falcons.  

The first set was even until a 5-0 run from Plattsburgh that saw kills from Girma and Collyear put the Cardinals ahead 8-5. The Cardinals continued to control play until the Falcons tied the game at 16 and later took an 18-17 lead. Both teams continued to trade the lead as the Cardinals closed the door using a 5-0 burst capped off by a Girma kill for the 25-23 set win.

Fisher controlled the game early, taking a 14-11 lead after scoring three straight points. The Cardinals responded quickly with a 4-0 run featuring three kills from Girma and took a 15-14 lead. The Falcons created some distance again, taking a 19-15 lead and eventually a 23-20 lead, but Plattsburgh outscored the Falcons 7-2 the rest of the way to come back and win 27-25.

The Cardinals took a commanding lead early in the set after back-to-back kills from Kyleigh Ganz (Phoenix, Ariz. / Seton Catholic Prep) and Salphine made the score 10-3. The Cardinals then used two 4-0 runs and extended their lead to 19-8 before going on to win the third set 25-16 to secure the 3-0 match victory.