PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. – The Plattsburgh State women's volleyball team swept Paul Smith's 3-0 (25-13, 25-14, 25-12) before finishing the day with another 3-0 (25-19, 25-16, 25-20) sweep against Vermont State University (VTSU) Johnson to conclude play at their home tri-match at Memorial Hall on Saturday evening.

Plattsburgh State rises to 6-8 overall with the pair of wins and is back in action at Memorial Hall when the team hosts Potsdam at 6 p.m. for their State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) opener. Paul Smith's moves to 5-6 overall with the pair of losses and returns to play on Thursday, Oct. 2, against Word of Life, and VTSU-Johnson falls to 5-10 with the split and next plays VTSU-Lyndon on Saturday, Oct. 4.

Plattsburgh State 3, Paul Smith's 0 (25-13, 25-14, 25-12)

Despite a slow start in the first set, the Cardinals' offense, led by junior Liya Girma (Sachse, Texas / Bishop Lynch) with a game-high 15 kills, picked it up and didn't lose any momentum en route to a 3-0 sweep.

Sophomore Anabella Almeida (Pine Bush, N.Y. / Pine Bush) set up the Cardinal attack with 19 assists while senior Kyleigh Ganz (Phoenix, Ariz. / Seton Catholic Prep) contributed six kills and two blocks.

Defensively, senior Bridget Ryan (Mattituck, N.Y. / Mattituck) and first-year Elena Stavroulakis (Bay Shore, N.Y. / Bay Shore) led the team with seven digs each.

For the Bobcats, Finnley Jacobson led the team in kills with seven, set up by Karlye Murphy with 14 assists. Kennedy Marchbanks led the team defensively with a game-high 11 digs.

While the Bobcats had a 4-2 edge in blocks, the Cardinals dominated aces 15-2 and had a 43-39 advantage in digs.

Early in the first set, the Bobcats kept it close until a 5-0 run featuring two service aces from Almeida put the Cardinals ahead 17-10. The Cardinals' offense showed no signs of slowing down after a 5-0 surge, which saw two service aces from Girma, pushed their lead to 22-12 before going on to win set one 25-13.

After the Bobcats opened the second set with back-to-back points, the Cardinals countered with a 7-0 run with kills from Mulvey, Girma, and Ganz and took a 7-2 lead. With Sanaia Estime (West Hempstead, N.Y. / West Hempstead) serving, the Cardinals scored four straight points, including a kill from Katie Salphine (Le Roy, N.Y. / Le Roy) and a service ace from Estime to take a 12-3 lead. Plattsburgh controlled the rest of the game and ultimately won set two 25-14.

A service ace from Emily O'Brien (Monroe, N.Y. / Monroe-Woodbury) started and ended a 6-0 tear that extended Plattsburgh's lead to 13-3 to start the third and final set. The Bobcats' offense showed signs of gaining momentum, bringing the score to 17-9 Cardinals, but a 5-0 burst late in the set from Plattsburgh sealed the deal on a 25-12 set win to secure a 3-0 match victory.

Plattsburgh State 3, VTSU-Johnson 0 (25-19, 25-16, 25-20)

The Badgers put up a strong effort with competitive play, but the Cardinals' offense was too much as three players notched double-digit kills in the 3-0 sweep.

Girma led all players with 12 kills, followed by Ganz and Mulvey with 11 kills each. Almeida led all players in assists with 20, while O'Brien contributed 12 in setting up the Cardinals' offense. Up top, Salphine stuffed down two blocks, and Ryan led all players with a game-high 11 digs.

For the Badgers, Haylee Hansen and Delaney Gross lead the offense with seven kills and 11 assists, respectively, while Alana Lewis defended 10 digs.

Overall, for the match, the Cardinals dominated defensively, owning a 41-30 advantage in digs but were edged out in blocks by the Badgers 3-2. The Cardinals finished the match with seven aces, and the Badgers finished with five.

After a closely contested start, the Cardinals used a 5-0 surge, capped off by two kills from Mulvey, and took a 15-12 lead. Another quick run extended Plattsburgh's lead to 19-13 before the Badgers battled back and made the score 23-17 Cardinals. However, Plattsburgh matched the Badgers with two points to end the set as Darby Collyear (Rockwall, Texas / Rockwall) closed the door in set one with a kill set up by O'Brien to secure a 25-19 win.  

Trailing early in set two, the Cardinals used multiple 3-0 runs to flip the script and take an 11-6 lead. The Badgers came within two, but the Cardinals' offense responded with three straight kills from Estime, Girma, and Mulvey and extended their lead to 17-12. After trading back-to-back points, a 5-0 rally to end the set, capped off by an O'Brien service ace, led to a 25-16 set win.

The Cardinals controlled the third set early after four straight points put them ahead 11-4. Another four straight points cushioned Plattsburgh's lead to 21-8, but the Badgers didn't go away, ripping off five straight points to cut into the double-digit lead. Another run by the Badgers late in the set brought them within four, but it was too late as a kill from Girma was all Plattsburgh needed to win the third and final set 25-20 and secure a 3-0 match victory.