Tedeschi, Nieman, Perrotta post career-highs as Panthers rally past Owls

            SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – The Plymouth State University women's volleyball team rallied from down a set twice on Friday night to defeat Westfield State University, 3-2, as part of the annual Tom Hay Invitational, hosted by Springfield College.

            The Panthers dropped the first set to the Owls, 25-18, before coming back to win set two, 25-21.  Westfield pulled ahead again, taking the third set, 25-21, before PSU rallied to tie the match at two sets apiece with a 25-20 verdict in set four.  Plymouth State pulled out the win with a 15-11 victory in the fifth and decisive set. PSU is now 11-9 overall while Westfield dips to 11-10.

            PSU got outstanding performances from senior Kaitlyn Tedeschi (Pascoag, R.I.) and junior Jana Nieman (Fair Lawn, N.J.).  Tedeschi hit at a .375 attack average with a career-high 17 kills, while Nieman attacked at a .353 clip with a career-high 16 kills.  Sophomore Kaitlyn Coon (Poestenkill, N.Y.) added nine kills, and sophomore setter Kirsten Perrotta (Hudson, N.H.) recorded a career-best 48 assists while also making seven kills and a team-high three service aces.

            Senior libero Cassie Pelton (Brookline, N.H.) posted a team-high 19 digs, while freshmen Rachel Morrissey (Salem, N.H.) and Katie Sylvia (Lee, N.H.) chipped in with double-digit dig efforts with 13 and 12, respectively.

            Plymouth State will play two more matches in the tournament on Saturday, facing Roger Williams University at 10:00 a.m. and host Springfield at 12:30 p.m.

-- 30 --