Plattsburgh's Charlotte Castine (7) with the dig on the ball to keep the point alive. PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. — The Plattsburgh Hornets remained unbeaten on the season Thursday night, rallying from an early setback to earn a 3-1 victory over the Ausable Valley Patriots in Champlain Valley Athletic Conference girls volleyball action. The Patriots entered the match at 1-2 and were determined to hand the Hornets their first loss of the season. Ausable Valley came out strong in a tightly contested opening set that featured several lead changes. Late in the set, the Patriots appeared to take control, building a 23-18 advantage. Plattsburgh refused to go away, however, mounting a comeback to tie the score and force extra points. Despite the Hornets' rally, the Patriots held on for a dramatic 27-25 victory and took a 1-0 lead in the match. After dropping the opening set, Plattsburgh responded convincingly. The Hornets came out energized in the second set and quickly established control behind strong serving and consistent play on both sides of the net. Plattsburgh cruised to a 25-14 victory to even the match at one set apiece. The Hornets kept the momentum in the third set. Ausable Valley struggled to slow down the Plattsburgh attack as the Hornets dominated from start to finish, pulling away for a commanding 25-10 win and a 2-1 lead in the match. Facing elimination, the Patriots looked to extend the contest in the fourth set, but the Hornets continued their strong play. Plattsburgh maintained the pressure throughout the set and closed out the match with a 25-15 victory, securing the 3-1 win in just over 90 minutes. With the victory, Plattsburgh improved to 4-0 on the season and will return to the court on Sept. 22 against the Northern Adirondack Bobcats. Ausable Valley dropped to 2-2 and will travel to Saranac on Sept. 21, looking to move back above .500. Gallery

Ausable Valley's (15) with the save on the bump for the Patriots' point.Gallery

Lake Placid's Ellie Shipman (4) with the set at the net to get the oncoming kill ready. PLATTSBURGH — The Plattsburgh Hornets opened their home schedule in impressive fashion, defeating Champlain Valley Athletic Conference rival Lake Placid 3-1 in a hard-fought volleyball match. The Blue Bombers came out determined to pull off the upset, jumping out to an early five-point lead in the opening set. Plattsburgh responded by steadily chipping away at the deficit before rallying late to claim a narrow 25-23 victory and take a 1-0 lead in the match. Lake Placid answered in the second set. Although the Hornets got off to another strong start, the Blue Bombers stayed within striking distance and eventually took control down the stretch. Their effort paid off with a 25-20 win, evening the match at one set apiece. The momentum shifted back to Plattsburgh in the third set. The Hornets stormed out to a 7-0 lead and never looked back. Lake Placid battled to stay in the set, but Plattsburgh maintained its advantage and secured a 25-17 victory to move ahead 2-1 and put itself one set away from the win. In the fourth set, the Hornets wasted little time taking command. Plattsburgh raced out to a 7-1 advantage and controlled play the rest of the way. The Blue Bombers attempted to mount a comeback, but the Hornets held firm and closed out the match to earn the 3-1 victory. With the win, Plattsburgh improved to 2-0 early in the season, while Lake Placid dropped to 0-3. The Hornets will look to build on their strong start as they continue CVAC play, while the Blue Bombers will search for their first victory of the season. Gallery

Plattsburgh's Azah Marsh drops to knee to bump the return sent by the Blue Bombers to get the play started. Gallery

Saranac's Brenna Ducatte (14) with the finger-tip spike that she gets over the Hornets defender for the score. It would be the start of the Section VII Volleyball playoffs, and the Plattsburgh High School would host one of the two semi-finals on this day. The #1 Plattsburgh Hornets would enter the playoffs undefeated as they would take on the #4 seeded Saranac Spartans with a spot in the Sectionals finals on Friday against the winner of the Beekmantown Eagles and Saranac Lake Red Storm. The home Hornets would come out firing, but the Spartans would do their best to keep the first set tight, and the Hornets would do better with a 25-19 victory. In the second set, the Spartans would after the win from the start of the seat, and they would get the 25-20 set win. As they head into the third set, the Chiefs would leave little to the imagination as they would get the easy 25-7 victory. As they would head to the 4th set, the Hornets would stay hot as they would get the easy 25-13 victory. The Hornets would win the match 3-1 and go to 17-0 on the season as they will take on the winner of the Beekmantown Eagles and Saranac Lake Red Storm Friday evening with a title on the line. As for the Saranac Spartans, their season would end at 10-7. Gallery

Plattsburgh's Essynce Gorham (14) with the close-up spike as she leaps and gets everything on it for the score. Gallery

Plattsburgh's Natalie Battinelli (11) with the spike between Ausable Valley defenders as she would get the point. It would be the last regular season game for the Plattsburgh Hornets as they would host the Ausable Valley Patriots in Section VII Volleyball action from the Plattsburgh High School. Before the game, they would honor the six seniors on the team. As for the match, the Hornets could win straight sets (25-16, 26-24, and 25-9). In the first two sets of the game, the Patriots would be holding their own and even have the lead a few times and had a chance to win the second set. With the win, the Plattsburgh Hornets would put the bow on their perfect season and go 16-0 as they head into the playoffs. As for the Ausable Valley Patriots, they will fall to 5-1 on the season as they have their season finale Wednesday Night against the Northeastern Clinton Cougars. Gallery

Ausable Valley's 5) with the backhanded flip shot over Plattsburgh's Sienna Ferguson as they were rallying in the first set. Gallery

Northern Adirondack's Allison LaPoint (12) with the spike that she would send back to the Hornets side for the point. It would be Champlain Valley Athletic Conference Volleyball action from Plattsburgh High School as the Hornets would host the Northern Adirondack Bobcats in a late-season tilt. The Plattsburg Hornets would leave little to the contest as they would take the straight-set victory by the score of 25-14, 25-10, and 25-14 for the victory. With the victory, the Hornets would stay perfect on the season as they go to 12-0 and head into their next match next week at Beekmantown for a matchup between the top 2 teams in the league. As the Northern Adirondack Bobcats fall to 1-11 on the season, they will meet up with the 0-8 Northeastern Clinton Cougars on October 21st. Gallery

Plattsburgh's Sadie Walker (13) with the services ace on the Northern Adirondack Bobcats as they would get the straight sets victory on the night. Gallery