PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. – Though the Plattsburgh State women's volleyball team hit .255 for the evening, the Cardinals were unable to match the offensive efficiency of St. Lawrence University, falling to the Saints, 3-0 (25-21, 25-19, 25-20), in non-conference action on Senior Night at Memorial Hall.
 
Prior to the start of the match, the Cardinals honored their two seniors, middle hitter Shelby Bourgeois (Keeseville, N.Y./AuSable Valley) and right side Lexi Pascal (Warwick, N.Y./Warwick Valley), in addition to assistant coach Jordynne Ales, who is also a senior and competed for Plattsburgh State from 2014-16.
 
Plattsburgh State drops to 3-6 overall with the loss and next competes at the Hartwick Tournament from Friday-Saturday, Sept. 15-16. The Cardinals' first match of the tournament occurs on Friday, Sept. 15, at 6 p.m. against Baldwin Wallace University. St. Lawrence rises to 8-1 overall with the win and returns to action from Friday-Saturday, Sept. 15-16, at the Bengal Challenge hosted by Buffalo State.
 
The Cardinals controlled the first set early on, and a kill by sophomore middle hitter/right side Dani Borunda (Salt Lake City, Utah/West) staked the home team to a 6-2 advantage. While the Saints scored three of the next four points, Plattsburgh State countered with three unanswered, and a service ace by freshman setter Alyssa Rock (West Chazy, N.Y./Beekmantown) gave the Cardinals a 10-5 lead, their largest of the set to that point. St. Lawrence clawed back, though, going on a 7-1 run to reverse a 19-14 deficit into a 21-20 lead. After a Saint service error tied the score at 21-all, St. Lawrence closed the set by scoring the final four points and took the frame by a score of 25-21.
 
St. Lawrence controlled the momentum early in the second, hopping out to an 8-2 lead. Plattsburgh State showed mettle by going on a 6-2 scoring spree, and a kill by sophomore outside hitter/right side Hunter Grotjohn (Scottsdale, Ariz./Horizon) drew the Cardinals within two at 10-8. The Saints then rattled off three straight points before the Cardinals retaliated with four unanswered, and a solo block by Pascal made it a one-point score. St. Lawrence eventually seized the momentum for good with a 4-0 run and captured the second set, 25-19.
 
After the two teams battled back and forth early on in the third, the Saints scored six consecutive points to break open a 12-6 advantage. The Cardinals clawed back and eventually cut the gap to two on a pair of occasions—once on a Saint ball-handling error and again two points later with a Pascal kill. St. Lawrence seemingly put the match out of reach with a 7-2 run to take a 23-16 edge, but Plattsburgh State continued to battle, scoring four straight points. Freshman middle hitter/right side Michelle Simmons (Riverside, Calif./Riverside Poly) capped off the spurt with a kill and pulled the Cardinals within three at 23-20. St. Lawrence sealed the victory, however, by winning the next two points to take the third set, 25-20.
 
Though Plattsburgh State hit .255, St. Lawrence's offense ran to the tune of a .340 hitting percentage, hitting at or above .400 in two of the three sets. The Saints held the upper hand in service aces (5-3) and digs (52-37), while both teams finished with three blocks.
 
Simmons keyed the Cardinal attack, hitting .385 on 12 kills and two errors in 26 total attempts. Rock paced the offense with 32 assists, while sophomore libero Bryanne Yasui (Honolulu, Hawaii/Moanalua) and Pascal defended 11 and 10 digs, respectively. Pascal reinforced the front row, too, with two total blocks during the match.
 
For St. Lawrence, sophomore middle hitter/right side Julia Wagner and sophomore middle hitter/right side Amanda Teppo each had 12 kills, with Wagner hitting .522 and Teppo swinging at a .500 clip. Junior outside hitter/middle hitter Grace Kelly had a double-double with 10 kills and 10 digs, while senior outside hitter Masha Kolesnikova fell just short of the statistical achievement with nine kills and a match-high 16 digs. Senior setter Katie Kull doled out 41 assists and floored three aces, while junior libero Ally Good collected 11 digs.