SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – The Plattsburgh State women's volleyball team dropped a 3-0 (25-20, 25-22, 25-17) decision to Skidmore before falling 3-1 (25-19, 25-14, 27-29, 25-13) to Manhattanville on the road Saturday evening.

Plattsburgh State drops to 3-8 overall, and next travels to Norwich for a non-conference matchup with the Cadets on Wednesday, Sept. 24 at 6 p.m. Skidmore moves to 5-5 overall, while Manhattanville moves to 5-3 overall as both teams next matchup with each other today at 3 p.m.

Skidmore 3, Plattsburgh State 0 (25-20, 25-22, 25-17)

After dropping the first set, Plattsburgh battled in the second but ultimately fell as Skidmore pulled away in the third and final set to secure a 3-0 match victory.

Junior Iris Mulvey (Middle Island, N.Y. / Longwood) led the Cardinal attack with eight kills and backed the Cardinal defense with 11 digs. Sophomore Anabella Almeida (Pine Bush, N.Y. / Pine Bush) set up the
Cardinal offense with 11 kills, while senior Melina Morillo (Bronx, N.Y. / Bronx Latin) was a force up top with a team-high three blocks.

For the Thoroughbreds, Madison Manning led the team in kills with 12, Chloe Heitman led the team in digs with 12, and Catriona Hoelperl led the team in assists with 26.

Overall, for the match, Plattsburgh owned the advantage in aces 7-6 and digs 39-38, but it was Skidmore who had the edge in blocks 9-4.

The Cardinals and the Thoroughbreds opened the first set with back-and-forth play, with neither team creating distance until Skidmore notched back-to-back kills and took an 18-14 lead. Late in the set, a kill from Ganz started a quick 3-0 run as the Cardinals tied the score at 20, but Skidmore scored the next five points for a 25-20 set win.

After Skidmore used a 6-0 run to take an early 10-5 lead, the Cardinals battled back and used a 4-0 run of their own, featuring kills from Darby Collyear (Rockwall, Texas / Rockwall) and Mulvey, and took a 13-12 lead momentarily. The rest of the set saw the teams go point for point, but a 3-0 burst from the Thoroughbreds gave Skidmore the lead late, and they went on to win the second set 25-22.

Despite tight play to start, Skidmore controlled the third set and pulled away using multiple 3-0 runs. Trailing 23-15, a kill from Mulvey looked to spark the Cardinal offense, but Skidmore scored two of the next three points to claim a 25-17 set win and secure the 3-0 match victory.

Manhattanville 3, Plattsburgh State 1 (25-19, 25-14, 27-29, 25-13)

Despite dropping the first two sets, Plattsburgh stole a close third set before dropping a tough fourth set as Manhattanville came away with the 3-1 match victory.

Mulvey led the Cardinals' offense yet again, this time notching nine kills while first-year Emily O'Brien (Monroe, N.Y. / Monroe-Woodbury) set up Plattsburgh's attack with 15 assists. Defensively, Senior Bridget Ryan (Mattituck, N.Y. / Mattituck) had a strong presence in the back row with 16 digs, while up top, Collyear recorded a game-high four blocks.

For the Valiants, Loren Hernandez led all players with 19 kills, Kayla Jennings led all players with 24 digs, and Alana Rivera led all players with 26 assists.

Overall, for the match, Plattsburgh had the edge in blocks 7-5, but Manhattanville controlled digs 63-51 and had a 7-5 advantage in aces.

Manhattanville opened up a commanding 11-3 lead to start the first set before the Cardinals rallied back as back-to-back kills from Collyear and Morillo brought Plattsburgh within three, making the score 21-18. However, the Valiants countered the Cardinals' run and outscored them 4-1 to secure a 25-19 set win.

An early run put Manhattanville up 6-1, but the Cardinals fought back using a 3-0 surge that began with a kill from Katie Salphine (Le Roy, N.Y. / Le Roy) and made the score 11-8. Unfortunately, the Valiants didn't lose any momentum and put the game out of reach using an 8-0 run to extend their lead to 19-8 before closing the set 25-14.

The third set was as close as it gets with neither team holding a lead of more than three points as the score stood 20-18 after a kill from Liya Girma (Sachse, Texas / Bishop Lynch). After the Valiants took their first lead, the Cardinals quickly responded with three points of their own and made the score 24-22, Plattsburgh. The end of the set saw both teams take one-point leads, and it was the Cardinals who prevailed after ending the set on a 3-0 run for a 29-27 set win.

Despite stealing the momentum to end the third set and taking an early 3-0 lead in the fourth, a 6-0 run from Manhattanville had the Valiants in control 11-7. The Valiants extended their lead to 21-12 thanks to a 6-0 run before winning the fourth set 25-13 to secure the 3-1 match victory.