PLYMOUTH, N.H. – Junior Emilee Flanagan (Milton, N.H.) and sophomore Nora Ryan (Groton, Conn.) combined for 20 kills and a .571 attack percentage as Plymouth State University captured the 2021 Little East Conference (LEC) women's volleyball regular season title with a 3-0 (25-13, 25-10, 26-24) win over Castleton University at Foley Gymnasium on Friday night.
 
The Senior Night victory gives Plymouth State its first outright regular season title. PSU previously finished tied atop the league in 2004, 2005, 2011 and 2019. The Panthers will be the top seed for next month's LEC Tournament for the second time in program history (2011).
 
Flanagan led all players with 11 kills and hit .529, while Ryan pounded nine kills with a sparkling .636 attack percentage. The Panthers rolled to easy wins in each of the first two sets, but Castleton used a 14-3 run late to take a 24-22 lead in set three. PSU fought off both set points, though, using a match-clinching four-point run to close out the victory.
 
Prior to the match Plymouth State honored its senior class; Jaia Bean (Charlottesville, Va.), Hannah Chartier (Weare, N.H.), Hannah Douglas (Rochester, N.H.), Alexa Price (Moultonborough, N.H.), Katie Townsend (Layton, Utah) and Maria Wimpey (Concord, N.H.).
 
Plymouth State improves to 19-0 (7-0 LEC) and is just one win shy of matching the program's longest winning streak set in 1996. Castleton falls to 4-14 and 0-6 in the LEC.
 
The Basics:

• Plymouth State 3, Castleton 0
  • Plymouth State (19-0, 7-0 LEC)
  • Castleton (4-14, 0-6 LEC)

How it Happened:

• Freshman Lilli Stogner (Weare, N.H.) rocketed six kills and hit .556 in the opening set, with Ryan adding five and Flanagan four as the Panthers hit .448 as a team. Wimpey ripped off three straight aces during an 8-0 run and the Panthers were rolling. Consecutive kills from Price and Stogner closed out the 25-13 first set win.
• Plymouth State was equally impressive in set two hitting .423. Price served PSU to a quick 6-0 lead and the Panthers led handily the rest of the way. Freshman Makayla Marucci (Newton, Mass.) ran out the final seven points, which included a pair of aces and a rare kill for the defensive specialist, and PSU took the set by a 25-10 margin.
• It looked like a sweep was inevitable early in the third set as the Panthers got out to another hot start. Junior Natalie Gravelle (Portsmouth, N.H.) found the floor to give the hosts a 19-11 lead, but Castleton started chipping away. The visitors used a four-point run to tie things at 21-21, then went ahead on a kill and PSU error to earn set point, 24-22. The Panthers battled back, though, sparked by a Flanagan kill. Chartier served an ace and Flanagan closed out the match with her 11th kill of the night for a 26-24 win.

By the Numbers:

• Flanagan added an ace and three blocks to her 11 kills.
• Ryan's .636 attack percentage was a career high with a minimum of 10 attacks.
• Stogner chipped in with eight kills (.462 pct.), while Price posted 36 assists, three kills and nine digs.
• Junior Marissa Plaza (Folsom, Calif.) had 10 digs and was perfect in 16 reception attempts.
• The Panthers hit .320 for the match and posted a 65% sideout percentage, including 78% in the opening set.
• PSU improves to 4-0 all-time against the Spartans. The series only dates back to the 2018 season when Castleton joined the LEC.

 Up Next:

• Plymouth State will face its biggest test of the season on Tuesday (Oct. 19) when Middlebury College visits Foley Gymnasium for a 6:00 p.m. game. Middlebury (15-1) is ranked No. 2 in the latest NEWVA poll, while Plymouth State is 13th.