Wyland leads Panthers to victory in home opener

            PLYMOUTH, N.H. – Junior Kayla Wyland (Melrose, Mass.) smashed 16 kills Tuesday evening to lead the Plymouth State University women's volleyball team to its first victory of the season, a 3-1 decision over Framingham State University in the Panthers' home opener at Foley Gymnasium.

            PSU overcame an outstanding performance by Framingham State's Alycia Rackliffe (Feeding Hills, Mass.), who racked up a match-high 23 kills and 10 digs. 

THE BASICS

at Foley Gymnasium, Plymouth, N.H. – Tuesday, Sept. 6, 2017

PSU 3, Framingham State 1                          25-12, 25-23, 17-25, 25-23

Records:

PSU 1-3; Framingham State 0-4 

PSU LEADERS

* Wyland had a team-high .438 attack percentage (16-2-32)

* Junior Claire Sporer (Medford, Ore.) and senior Brianna Wojtas (Salem, N.H.) added nine kills each.

* Sophomore Alisha Flanagan (MiIton, N.H.) chipped in with seven kills.

* Junior setter Megan Bailey (Canterbury, N.H.) posted 46 assists and a team-best seven service aces.

* Five Panthers reached double figures in digs, led by junior Brenna Peruch (Cave Creek, Ariz.) with 18. 

FRAM LEADERS

* Rackliffe had a match high 23 kills with a .288 attack percentage.

* Senior Julia Wan (South Deerfield, Mass.) contributed eight kills and junior Sarah Leonard (Southborough, Mass.) added six.

* Wan had a team-high 18 digs for the Rams, and junior Vicki Anderson (Attleboro, Mass.) was next with 16.

* Junior setter Molly Meehan (Quincy, Mass.) finished with 37 assists. 

NOTES

* PSU took a big lead in the first set on the serving by Bailey and never let Framingham get on track.

* The visitors took an early lead in the second set before PSU rallied to tie the set at 16-16 and pulling out the three-point decision.

* Framingham took the third set on some strong hitting by Rackliffe.

* The fourth set was back and forth the whole way. PSU pulled out the set, coming back from down 22-18 to clinch the victory. 

NEXT UP

* Granite State Challenge, at Daniel Webster College, Nashua, N.H. – Friday, Sept. 9, 2016

      PSU vs. Keene State, 6:30 p.m.; PSU vs. Daniel Webster, 8:30 p.m.

* Framingham State plays its home opener Saturday, Sept. 10, hosting Newbury at 11:00 a.m. and the University of Southern Maine at 3:00 p.m. 

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