(Box
Score)
BOSTON, Mass. - Senior middle hitter Eliza
Badeau (Foster, R.I.) smashed a match-high 18 kills on a
.680 hitting percentage Friday evening to lead the second-seeded
Plymouth State University women's volleyball team over number three
seed Western Connecticut State University, 25-22, 25-20, 27-25, in
the Little East Conference tournament semifinals at the Clark
Athletic Center at UMass Boston.
The Panthers, ranked 12th in the latest Division III New England
Women's Volleyball poll, improve to 30-4 to set a school record for
victories in a season, topping the old mark of 29 set in
2003. The Colonials, ranked 15th in the NEWVA
poll, fall to 26-8 on the season. The Panthers will play for
the LEC championship Saturday at 12 noon at the Clark Athletic
Center vs. number one seed and regular-season champion UMass
Boston. UMB swept PSU during the regular season, 3-0, on Oct.
24.
The first set was separated by no more than two points through the
first 30 points as the teams stood deadlocked at 15-15. PSU scored
five unanswered points on the service of sophomore Meghan
Sullivan (Marlton, N.J.) to take a 20-15 margin.
WestConn responded with four points on junior Sammie Hathaway's
serve to pull to within 20-19. The teams went back and forth
as the Colonials maintained the one-point deficit, trailing 23-22,
before the Panthers scored the final two points to take the opening
set.
PSU opened up an 18-8 advantage in set two, but Western scored five
straight times on junior Danielle Spangler's (Simi Valley, Calif.)
service to cut the deficit to 18-13. Plymouth State stopped
the run to take a 19-13 lead, but the Colonials reeled off five
more points with senior Chrissy Bell (Prospect, CT) behind the
service line to come to within 19-18. It would be as close as
they would get as the Panthers scored six of the next eight points
to take the set and a 2-0 match lead.
The teams exchanged side outs for the first 10 points of set number
three and remained within three points of each other the entire
frame. The Panthers owned a 14-11 lead, but Western used
Hathaway's service to score five straight points for a 16-14
margin. The Colonials maintained an 18-15 lead until Plymouth
State ripped off four straight points on senior setter
Brianna Kleckner's (Terryville, Conn.) serve to
take a 19-18 edge. The teams traded leads, but the Panthers
scored three times to serve for match point at 24-23, only to see
the Colonials deny them. Western Connecticut State also
served for the match at 25-24, but Plymouth held it off and scored
the final three points on Sullivan's serve to win the match.
Badeau committed just one attack error the entire night and added a
pair of blocks for the Panthers, while Kleckner set for a
match-high 40 assists in addition to seven digs and two aces.
Sullivan spiked for eight kills, served up two aces and scooped up
10 digs. Senior middle hitter Carly Newton
(Centerville, Mass,) contributed with seven kills, while sophomore
libero Alex Avery (Milton, N.H.) anchored the
defense with a match-high 15 digs.
Freshman Paxton Thornton (Sharon, Conn.) led the Western offense
with 13 kills on a .303 hitting clip, while senior Becca Stein
(Kingston, N.Y.) swung for nine kills. Hathaway directed the
action with 33 assists and a match-high four aces and sophomore
libero Kelley Collins (Massapequa, N.Y.) got down for 12 digs to
lead the defense.
(Courtesy of UMass Boston Sports Information)
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