By Emma Deo
Plattsburgh State Cardinals’ women’s volleyball has finally notched a win after eight loses to start the season. This win brought Plattsburgh to a 1-8 record, but could be the start of the team hitting its stride.
When the Cardinals swept the Norwich Cadets (1-9) in a 3-0 decision, they earned first-year head coach Eimile O’Brien her first career win.
“This felt really good, we’ve been waiting for this,” junior setter Kyleigh Ganz said. “We’ve been wanting to finally put a win in the books,”
Coming together as a unit is essential for Plattsburgh volleyball this season, especially under a new head coach. The right pieces have been there since the beginning, it’s just about executing and putting them together at the right times.
Although this was the team’s first win of the season, the energy on the court was emblematic of an undefeated squad. This spark was visible from the first point of the first set all the way to the final kill from sophomore outside hitter Liya Girma. Girma finished the match with 11 kills.
“It was aggressive serving tonight that got us continuously on the offense, as opposed to working defensively and trying to make up for it,” O’Brien said.
Plattsburgh came out hot, starting the first set on a 6-0 run. It never gave up the lead, with their offense propelling them to a 25-15 win.
The second set was much closer, Norwich tied the game at 12 after Plattsburgh opened the set with an 8-4 lead. Plattsburgh and Norwich were neck-and-neck for the rest of the set, trading leads back and forth, but the Cardinals came out on top 25-19. The win gave the Cardinals their first 2-0 match lead of the season.
Sophomore right-side hitter Iris Mulvey took the reins of the third set, shutting down Norwich with a 10-point run with four service aces, giving Plattsburgh an early 13-4 lead. The Cadets inched their way back into the set, but the Cardinals closed the door, earning a 25-20 victory, winning the match in straight sets.
Sophomore right-side hitter Darby Collyear, who earned all-tournament team honors at the Skidmore Classic on Sept. 7, led the offense with 12 kills.
As Norwich head coach Karin Parkhurst told Collyear after the match, “You’ve got the stuff, kid.”
Aside from kills and aces, Collyear attributed the team’s newfound success to things that fell into place off the court. Confidence level, lack of nerves and little focus on outside concerns helped the Cardinals secure the 3-0 victory.
“We were uplifting each other a lot more, we communicated and I feel like if we apply that to the rest of the season and keep putting the heat on from the jump and don’t let up, we’ll definitely go a lot farther,” Collyear said.
Plattsburgh was a serving powerhouse, earning 11 aces while limiting Norwich to just three. Mulvey led all players with six.
“They’re really starting to buy into what I’m preaching and what I’m prioritizing as a team and they’re seeing it come together,” O’Brien said. “They’re communicating with each other and their trust in each other on the court has been improving.”
With Plattsburgh’s three-set sweep of the Cadets, the Cardinals matched the total number of sets they have won on the season.
“We’re just trying to make sure we’re doing our jobs and trusting our teammates to do theirs,” Ganz said.
In the following meets, The Cardinals secured two more wins over SUNY Poly (1-7) and Anna Maria College (1-9).
Plattsburgh is finding wins at the perfect time, and is hoping to take its momentum into conference play out west, playing Fredonia on Oct. 4 and Buffalo State on Oct. 5. The following weekend, the team is back at Memorial Hall, hosting Cortland on Oct. 11 and Morrisville on Oct 12 for two more SUNYAC matchups.
