Close sets show promise in tough matchups

BY REBEKAH RILEY Staff Writer

Plattsburgh Cardinals women’s volleyball started SUNYAC play last weekend, opening the season with two losses. It traveled to Brockport where it played the Golden Eagles Sept. 29, losing in four sets. The Cards then traveled to Geneseo Sept. 30, enduring another loss, this time in three sets.

Against the Eagles, the Cards played the first set taking a 16-25 loss. It came back in a tightly-contested second set, winning 30-28. In the third set, the Golden Eagles came back.

The Cardinals played this set back-and-forth, keeping the score close. Trailing 3-5, the Eagles pulled away, scoring five straight. Plattsburgh did its best to hold on.

W. SOCCER

Facing a 12-19 deficit, a 7-1 Cardinals run brought the score to 19-20. Multiple Cardinal errors allowed Brockport to pull away again, taking the third set 22-25.

Brockport secured its first SUNYAC win in the fourth set, taking the Cards 14-25.

First-year Liya Girma had nine kills, senior Emma Rivers had two aces and 15 assists, sophomore Jeannette Ashong had four blocks and senior Payton Zophy had 38 digs.

Zophy’s defensive performance was rewarded with her career single-game high in digs and was honored with Cardinal of the Week by Plattsburgh State Athletics.

The Cardinals lost to the Geneseo Knights in the first set, 13-25. The Cards put up a fight, but lost the second set 31-33. Plattsburgh held a 31-30 advantage, but three straight Geneseo points put the Cardinals away. The Knights ran away with the third set, winning 14-25.

Volleyball

Zophy had the most digs with 21, Rivers had a total of 20 assists, first-year Katarina Wagner had two blocks, sophomore Bridget Ryan and Girma both had one ace and first-year Darby Collyear had eight kills.

This past weekend was a challenge for the Cardinals, but it was one that opened their eyes to a new type of gameplay.

“Although I was very impressed with how we played, it was our first introduction to that fastset gameplay, and long rallies,” Zophy said.

The Cards didn’t think they would be starting off their conference play with two losses, however they haven’t lost confidence or motivation.

“It’s good that we started with them to see what the highest level competition is, and it showed us our potential as a team because we did take a set from Brockport, and we were super close to taking one from Geneseo” Zophy said.

Geneseo and Brockport aren’t easy competition. They’re both seasoned programs with particularly strong servers this season.

“Geneseo and Brockport are two very competitive teams. They’re typically either second or third in our conference. The fact that we almost took a second set from Brockport really just shows how far we’ve come as a program” Healis said.

Unless the Cardinals meet Geneseo or Brockport in the playoffs, this marks the last in-conference games against the SUNYAC rivals.

The Knights and Golden Eagles announced its departure to the Empire 8 Aug. 21. Healis regardless of the result, Healis is anticipating this weekend’s games.

“I’m excited to see us work harder around wins. Our game against Oswego should be a beautiful match. I’m excited to see us work hard to earn that one and, honestly, Cortland, I’m looking to see us compete and try to push and not roll over for them.” Healis said.

The past three weekends the Cards have been traveling for their games, and this is their first weekend back home.

“Having a home advantage definitely is nice. We don’t have to deal with traveling, like this past weekend we traveled six plus hours both ways. We are excited to get back in our gym and play our home games,” Rivers said.

Being in front of a home audience is added motivation.

“Having our fans there, having more family members there, having friends there, and just being in the gym where we play every day, and where we are more comfortable playing, I think we definitely do have an advantage of playing better,” Rivers said.

Today, Friday, Oct. 6, the Cardinals will be playing the Oswego Lakers at Memorial Hall at 6 p.m. Tomorrow, Saturday, Oct. 7, the Cardinals will be playing the Cortland Red Dragons at Memorial Hall at 1 p.m. This will be an opportunity for Plattsburgh to further prove itself as a competitor in the SUNYAC.

Tennis

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“Once they scored, it’s kind of just like, desperation mode for me and everyone else.” Hayes said. “We obviously want to keep our undefeated streak, but we also wanted to pick up a win.”

Thirty seconds later, Hayes and the Cardinals responded. A perfect pass by Howes allowed Hayes to charge down toward the box with competitive aggression and put the ball past the Lakers goalkeeper. The Cardinals celebrated minimally, returning to their spots, ready to finish the game.

Hayes has been a force to be reckoned with all season. He leads the Cardinals in goals with five, points with 11, shot attempts with 38 and shots on goal with 19.

“John’s fantastic. He’s an unbelievable athlete, an unbelievable talent,” Men’s Head Coach Chris Taylor said. “But the best thing about John that can’t be taught is that competitively, he’s an animal. He does not want to lose anything ever.”

Hayes’ clutch performance was enough to stave off defeat, but an influx of stoppages of play had both teams emotional as the game drew to a close. A Plattsburgh scoring opportunity was waived off by officials for a foul call, and calls against Oswego had the Lakers reacting as well.

The athletes’ emotions culminated in a yellow flag for the Oswego Lakers in the final second of the match, and both teams headed to the locker rooms still hot with competitive fire.

The locker room was heavy with dissatisfaction after the third conference tie in a row.

“It was definitely disappointing. It felt like we dropped two points instead of earning one,” Frankie Palumbo said. “I was disappointed and the team was as well. We just expect better of ourselves.” Taylor wasn’t happy with the outcome either.

“I was with everyone else, I was. I was angry, and I told the guys as such,” Taylor said. “We have to take responsibility for not a bad result, but a disappointing result.”

The Plattsburgh State Cardinals will be looking for its second conference win in its next match against conference rivals Fredonia (5-3-3, SUNYAC 1-3-0) Saturday, Oct. 7 in Fredonia. The Cardinals will then host two SUNYAC games next week against Cortland (9-1-1, SUNYAC 3-0) and Buffalo State (5-3-2, SUNYAC 1-3) Wednesday, Oct. 11 and Saturday, Oct. 14 respectively.

Junior captain Hallie Hurwitz breathes in and readies herself before a serve at the Memorial Hall Tennis Courts Sept. 23. Hurwitz has the most wins in doubles play this season with eight.

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This weekend is the biggest stretch of games all season for Plattsburgh.

It traveled to Binghamton yesterday to begin a threegame SUNYAC slate as it chases a playoff berth.

“We play all three SUNYAC games and if we are able to sweep then we’ll be making playoffs, which hasn’t happened in a very long time,” Head Coach Kelci Henn said.

Plattsburgh needed the Cortland Red Dragons to beat the Geneseo Knights to remain in the race. The Dragons knocked off the Knights 5-4 Sept. 30. The Cardinals knew what they needed to do to capitalize on this opportunity.

“Next week I could work on the mental game. Working on the mental game is going to be important for me, spending a lot of time playing game play in practice,” Hurwitz said.

Plattsburgh may have taken home a loss but Henn is very proud with her players' work in this game.

“I’m happy with everyone's level of performance, we played up more than we usually do. I think everyone really brought out their toughest shots. They were more aggressive than they ever have been in the last few weeks,” Henn said.

Captain Nicole Svantner had no problem taking responsibility.

“Today I had a rough time keeping a level head, I think it’s because I felt like I could’ve gotten more points,” Svantner said.

Plattsburgh is planning to be in its best headspace in Binghamton.

“I learned that the mental game is a lot more important than the physical game, which some people might not expect, but as soon as you start getting frustrated with yourself, it's basically over for you,” Hurwitz said.

The Cardinals started the Binghamton stretch with a very important 7-2 win against the Brockport Golden Eagles Thursday, Oct. 5, keeping its playoff hopes alive. Now, the Cardinals need to win against Geneseo today, Friday, Oct. 6 and the Fredonia Blue Devils tomorrow, Saturday, Oct. 7, and for the Oneonta Red Dragons or Geneseo to lose out.

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WSOC - Ten seniors will be honored on Senior Day, Saturday, Oct. 7.

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MSOC - The Cards are up to four ties this year, three in the SUNAYC.

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VB - With 11 games left on the schedule, only two are away games.

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SUNYAC - SUNY Canton and Morrsiville are now SUNYAC members.

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TEN - Platts is spending three days in Binghamton for SUNYAC games.

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The Cards dropped a non-conference matchup against the St. Lawrence Saints 1-3 Wednesday, Oct. 4. Senior midfielder Sophia Hatziyianis scored Plattsburgh’s only goal of the game. The loss won’t have much implication for the postseason as the team enters the second half of the SUNYAC season.

Plattsburgh now looks ahead as they focus on a conference game against the Fredonia

Blue Devils on Saturday, Oct. 7. The Fredonia game will also mark Senior Day for the Cardinals. Frary is feeling good about the team's mindset going into the weekend.

“Scoring that goal and getting over that hump made us feel like, ‘yeah, we’re good,’ and instilled that confidence in us,” Frary said. “Fredonia will be Senior Day as well. We’ll have 10 seniors starting and I think having them all play together will be fun.”

Email JAYSON GASTON cp@cardinalpointsonline.com

Cardinal Clips

BY COLLIN BOLEBRUCH Sports Editor

SUNYAC

The State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) has announced that the SUNY Canton Kangaroos and the SUNY Morrisville Mustangs will join the conference as fulltime members beginning in the 2024-25 academic year. This move was made to rebalance the conference after the SUNY Geneseo Knights and the SUNY Brockport Golden Eagles announced their departure to the Empire 8 Aug. 21.

Morrisville and Canton were both members of the Northeast Women’s Hockey

League before it transitioned to the SUNYAC May 12. In a corresponding move, both programs also joined the men’s hockey league. The Roos and the Mustangs are now slated to compete under the SUNYAC umbrella in all sports. The Cardinals have regularly competed in nonconference matches with the new admits in previous years, more prominently against Canton. Last season, the Cards played the Roos in non-conference games in baseball, men’s lacrosse, men’s soccer, women’s basketball, women’s lacrosse, women’s soccer, softball and volleyball. The Alfred State Pioneers

Junior midfielder John Hayes has proven to be the Cardinals' most valuable piece on offense. His equalizer saved Plattsburgh from a loss against Oswgo.

G A Sog Min

1 1 5 161 will also be joining the SUNYAC as an associate member, competing in men’s and women’s indoor and outdoor track and field.

The SUNYAC will be introducing men’s wrestling as its 22nd sport, starting immediately for the 2023-24 season.

The league will include the current SUNYAC members Cortland Red Dragons, Oswego Lakers, Oneonta Red Dragons; the departing Brockport; and the new associate SUNYAC members Ithaca Bombers, Rochester Institute of Technology Tigers, St. John Fisher Cardinals and Utica Pioneers.

Cardinals women's soccer picked up its first SUNYAC win of the season on the road against the rival Oswego Lakers, which may be the boost it needs.

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