The Plattsburgh State volleyball team went head to head with Elmira College, Cazenovia College and Wells College in the Canton Classic last weekend in Canton, NY.
On Friday, the Cardinals played against Elmira College losing 1-3 at St. Lawrence University. Then on Saturday, the Cards triumphed against Cazenovia College 3-0 at St. Lawrence, but then later fell to Wells College 1-3 at SUNY Canton.
Freshman defensive specialist and outside hitter Angie Miller and sophomore middle hitter Tatyana Barlow attribute the win against Cazenovia to the team staying positive and keeping the energy high.
“We played at a consistently high level against them,” Miller said. “We kept our intensity up and didn’t play down.”
Head Coach Jake Bluhm attributed the win to the team playing hard and consistently.
“We took our chances when we had them,” Bluhm said. ”We were a little all over in the other games, but did the same.”
PSUC is heavily focusing on chemistry and teamwork this season, the team stated that the chemistry still needs a bit of work but is ever growing.
“We are different people but we all come together in volleyball,”Miller said. “We all work hard together on the court.”
“The players are doing a better job communicating with each other on and off the court,” Bluhm said.
Playing consistently is what gets the Cards their wins, so they are trying to improve it with every match.
“When we are careless with the volleyball we are playing against the other team, but we’re also playing against ourselves,” Bluhm said.
As the team looks forward to the next round of SUNYAC games they are putting a focus on its defense and offensive skills.
“We need to fix the block,” Barlow said. “We need to run different and more plays off of free balls to give a variety in our offense.”
Injuries have been a hurdle that PSUC has been struggling with this season. Sophomore middle and right side hitter Dani Borunda’s injury is starting to look up, however, freshman defensive specialist Maddy Zophy suffered an upper-body injury last weekend and freshman setter and defensive specialist Alyssa Rock is still out, unfortunately.
“We’re still doing a lot of good things especially with people in positions they aren’t accustomed to,” Bluhm said. “It’s hard because the team dynamic is always changing.”
PSUC is optimistic going into today’s SUNYAC Pool Play against Brockport, SUNY Cortland, and Buffalo State hosted by Geneseo.
“We just need to keep our mental game up, come out of ruts and come back from errors and we’ll be set.” Miller said.
Email Windsor Burkland at sports@cardinalpointsonline.com
