SCHENECTADY, N.Y. – Coming off their fourth straight win last night, the Plattsburgh State women's volleyball team competed in tri-match action Saturday afternoon, taking on former SUNYAC foe New Paltz and Union at Viniar Athletic Center. In their opening match of the day, the Cardinals fell to New Paltz, 3-0 (25-17, 25-20, 25-12), before dropping their second match against Union, 3-0 (25-14, 25-15, 25-20).
Game 1: New Paltz 3, Plattsburgh State 0 (25-17, 25-20, 25-12)
In their first match of the afternoon, Plattsburgh faced the Hawks and dropped a competitive opening set before New Paltz used a scoring stretch to pull away. The Hawks controlled the final two sets to earn the 3-0 victory.
Senior opposite hitter
Darby Collyear (Rockwall, Texas/Rockwall) and senior outside hitter
Liya Girma (Sachse, Texas/Bishop Lynch) both finished with seven kills to lead the Cardinals. Collyear also added three blocks and three service aces. Sophomore setter
Emily O'Brien (Monroe, N.Y./Monroe-Woodbury) set up the offense with 17 assists and fell just short of a double-double with eight digs, while senior libero
KC Burke (Murrieta, Calif./Northfield Mount Hermon [Mass.]) led the defense with a game-high 17 digs. At the net, first-year middle blocker
Brooke Anderson (Queensbury, N.Y./Queensbury) also recorded three blocks.
For the Hawks, Elena Savage set up the offense with a game-high 24 assists, Genevieve Boyle registered a game-high eight kills, and Christine Balbona finished with a game-high seven blocks.
The Cardinals held a 45-43 edge in digs and an 8-7 advantage in service ace, while the Hawks led the block battle 9-4.
Plattsburgh opened the match with a 6-2 advantage after a kill and service aces from Collyear sparked a quick 3-0 burst. The Cardinals continued to build their early advantage with kills from
Augustina White (Newburgh, N.Y./Newburgh Free Academy) and Girma, pushing the score to 14-9. Midway through the set, the Hawks shifted the momentum with several scoring stretches and moved ahead 22-16 before taking the opening frame, 25-17.
New Paltz controlled the second set early after a kill from O'Brien made the score 8-5, and the Hawks soon extended their advantage to 15-5. The Cardinals chipped away late, cutting the deficit to 21-16 after Collyear recorded back-to-back service aces. A service ace from
Avery Jackson (New Rochelle, N.Y./New Rochelle) later made the score 24-20, but New Paltz closed out the set, 25-20.
The Hawks opened a 16-5 advantage midway through the third set before an Anderson kill stopped the run and made the score 16-6. The Cardinal offense continued to chip away with a 3-0 surge sparked by a White kill, bringing Plattsburgh within 18-11. New Paltz controlled the remainder of the set, however, winning 25-12 to secure the 3-0 match victory.
Game 2: Union 3, Plattsburgh State 0 (25-14, 25-15, 25-20)
After dropping the first two sets, the Cardinals battled in the third frame and made a late push but could not force a fourth set, falling 3-0 to the Garnet Chargers.
O'Brien set up the attack with 22 assists and added seven digs, while Girma led the Cardinals with a game-high 12 kills and contributed eight digs. Defensively, White paced Plattsburgh at the net with a career-high and game-high four blocks, while Burke led the back row with a game-high 12 digs.
For the Garnet Chargers, Allie Kronenberg posted a game-high 25 assists, while Erin Stevens led the team with nine kills.
Union held the statistical advantage in digs by a 41-39 margin and blocks by a 6-4 count, while also owning an 11-6 edge in service aces.
The Garnet Chargers quickly jumped ahead in the first set, using a 5-0 run to build an 11-4 advantage. The Cardinals halted the stretch with back-to-back kills from Collyear and Anderson, but another Union scoring run extended the deficit to 17-7. Plattsburgh could not generate another sustained push, and Union pulled away for a 25-14 set victory.
Plattsburgh grabbed an early lead in the second set, going ahead 8-6 after an Anderson kill. The Garnet Chargers responded immediately, taking an 11-8 advantage and later extending it to 16-12 before another Anderson kill made the score 16-13. Union then used another scoring stretch to push ahead 23-13 and eventually took the set, 25-15.
Halfway through the third set, Plattsburgh pulled within one at 16-15 after a Girma kill and a Jackson service ace. The Cardinals could not get any closer, as another Union surge pushed the advantage to 23-16. Plattsburgh made a late push with back-to-back Girma kills, but ultimately fell 25-20 as the Garnet Chargers secured the 3-0 match victory.
With the pair of losses, Plattsburgh State moves to 9-9 overall and will be back in action Friday, Oct. 9, when the Cardinals begin conference play with a trip to new conference member Delhi for a 6 p.m. match.
