PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. – The Plattsburgh State women's volleyball team dropped its State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) opener during pool play action at Memorial Hall on Friday afternoon, falling, 3-2 (20-25, 19-25, 25-28, 25-13, 15-7), to SUNY Potsdam.
 
After hitting .323 and .333 in the first two sets, the Cardinals took a 2-0 lead. Potsdam's offense woke up in the latter three sets, however, and hit .414 in the fourth and .333 in the fifth to complete the come-from-behind victory.
 
Plattsburgh State drops to 5-8 overall (0-1 SUNYAC) with the loss and finishes up the SUNYAC Pool Play weekend tomorrow with matches against SUNY Geneseo (12 p.m.) and SUNY New Paltz (2:30 p.m.). Potsdam rises to 7-5 overall (1-0 SUNYAC) with the win and faces New Paltz (12 p.m.) and Geneseo (2:30 p.m.) tomorrow.
 
After each team traded runs early in the first, Plattsburgh State went off on an 8-1 tear, and a kill by sophomore middle hitter Tatyana Barlow (Palmdale, Calif./Pete Knight) staked the Cardinals to a 12-7 lead. That proved to be the difference in the set, as the Bears were unable to draw any closer than within three points the rest of the set. A libero kill by sophomore Bryanne Yasui (Honolulu, Hawaii/Moanalua)—her second of the set—handed the Cardinals a 25-20 victory in the first.
 
In the second set, Plattsburgh State jumped out to an early lead, as back-to-back kills by Barlow staked the Cardinals to a 9-4 advantage and capped a 7-1 run. Plattsburgh State continued to pull away on the strength of a pair of 4-0 spurts, which were punctuated by kills from freshman middle hitter/right side Michelle Simmons (Riverside, Calif./Riverside Poly) and freshman outside hitter Rachel Mennonna (Selden, N.Y./Newfield), respectively. The Bears wound up closing the gap to five with set point on the line, but senior right side Lexi Pascal (Warwick, N.Y./Warwick Valley) wrapped up the frame with a termination to give Plattsburgh State the 25-19 triumph in the second.
 
The Bears retaliated with a strong start in the third, hopping out to a 9-5 edge. Plattsburgh State scored four straight points in response, and a service ace by Pascal tied the score at 9-all. The Cardinals took the lead three times, first as a result of a block assist by sophomore outside hitter/right side Hunter Grotjohn (Scottsdale, Ariz./Horizon) and Barlow to take a 12-11 advantage and again following a Bear service error and a Simmons kill. Potsdam closed the set on a convincing 11-3 run and won the frame by a 25-18 final.
 
Back-and-forth play defined the early stages of the fourth set, but eight unanswered Potsdam points gave the Bears a 14-6 lead. Potsdam went unchallenged down the stretch in the set and claimed the fourth, 25-13.
 
Potsdam never trailed in the fifth set, scoring the first three points of the deciding frame and taking an 8-3 lead into the switch. Plattsburgh State rallied, however, pulling within two after a pair of Grotjohn kills and a Pascal termination, but Potsdam rattled off the final six points of the set to take the fifth, 15-7.
 
The Bears hit .199 for the match, while the Cardinals hit .172. Potsdam finished with a 10-4 edge in service aces, while Plattsburgh State had a slight 63-60 advantage in digs.
 
Mennonna led the Cardinal attack with 12 kills, while Barlow added a career-high 10. Sophomore right side/setter Brianna Coon (Plattsburgh, N.Y./Plattsburgh) helped quarterback the attack with 32 assists, while Simmons and Yasui led the defense with six blocks and 20 digs, respectively.
 
For Potsdam, freshman outside hitter Anika Anderson led the way with 16 kills and a .333 hitting percentage, while senior outside hitter/right side Kelsea Healis posted a double-double with 10 kills and 11 digs. Junior setter Brianna Rodda handed out 43 assists and added 12 digs for the double-double, while senior defensive specialist/outside hitter Whitney Coyle also finished with 12 digs.