DANBURY, Conn. – For the second straight match and third time this season the Plymouth State University women's volleyball team rallied from an 0-2 deficit, storming back to upend Western Connecticut State University (17-25, 16-25, 25-16, 25-20, 19-17) in a key Little East Conference (LEC) match, before holding off the College of Mount Saint Vincent, 3-1 (26-24, 20-25, 25-17, 25-16) at Stephen Feldman Arena on Saturday.
 
The Panthers' 15-match winning streak looked in jeopardy as WestConn came out firing to build a quick 2-0 lead. Plymouth State's defense kicked it up a notch to take set three and the offense settled in to force a deciding fifth set. The hosts led 12-8 and 13-9, but a five-point run gave the Panthers a 14-13 lead and the two teams went back and forth until sophomore Nora Ryan (Groton, Conn.) put the match away with a kill before the team rushed the court.
 
PSU survived another close set to hold off Mt. St. Vincent, 26-24, in the day's second match, but the Dolphins rallied with a set two win. Plymouth State took over from there, holding the CMSV offense down to wrap up the 3-1 win.
 
Plymouth State's 17-match streak is now the second longest in school history, surpassed only by a 20-match streak that opened the program's first season in 1996. The win over WestConn also puts the Panthers in the driver's seat as teams begin to jockey for postseason positioning.
 
The Panthers improve to 17-0 (5-0 LEC). WestConn recovered to topple CMSV in the day's final match to move to 12-6 (3-2 LEC) and CMSV ends the day at 8-10.
 
The Basics:

• Plymouth State 3, WestConn 2
• Plymouth State 3, CMSV 1
  • Plymouth State (17-0, 5-0 LEC)
  • WestConn (12-6, 3-2 LEC)
  • CMSV (8-10)

How it Happened (WestConn):

• PSU trailed 15-11 after a kill from freshman Lilli Stogner (Weare, N.H.), but WestConn followed with a decisive five-point run and the hosts cruised to a 25-17 win in the first set.
• WestConn scored the first six points of set two and raced out to a 9-1 advantage. PSU tried to rally, but the gap was too large as WestConn took a 2-0 lead with a 25-16 victory.
• The battled-tested Panthers, who rallied from the same deficit on Tuesday, used a 10-1 surge to seize a 23-15 lead in set three. Stogner had two aces and two kills in the spurt and junior Emilee Flanagan (Milton, N.H.) added a huge block as PSU rallied for a 25-16 win.
• The hosts took a 10-7 lead in set four, but Stogner had four kills in a 7-1 run as PSU went ahead, 14-11. WestConn rallied to take a 17-16 lead, but Plymouth State fought back. With the score deadlocked at 19-19, Flanagan's kill sparked a five-point run as PSU forced a decisive fifth set with a 25-20 win.
• WestConn used a 3-0 run to take an 8-6 lead halfway through the final set, and the hosts extended the advantage to 13-9 moments later. Stogner notched back-to-back kills to spark a turnaround and Flanagan and senior Alexa Price (Moultonborough, N.H.) teamed up for a block for a 14-13 lead. The teams went back-and-forth, with PSU fighting off a pair of WestConn match-point opportunities before kills from Flanagan and Ryan around a WestConn error gave PSU the hard-fought win.

By the Numbers (WestConn):

• Stogner led the Panthers with 17 kills and hit .297, while Flanagan and Ryan added 10 and nine kills, respectively. Stogner added three aces and 11 digs.
• Price finished with 40 assists, 11 digs and two aces, while junior Marissa Plaza (Folsom, Calif.) posted 21 digs. Freshman Imalay Rodriguez Martinez (Juncos, Puerto Rico) also reached double digits with 10 digs.
• WestConn hit .407 and .333 in the first two sets, but PSU limited them to -.032 and .125 in sets three and four. Remarkably, the hosts hit .409 in set five, but PSU's fifth-set experience paid off.
• The win tied the 2009 team for the second-longest win-streak to start a season in program history.
• PSU has won seven-of-eight against WestConn, with five of those matches going the distance.

 
How it Happened (CMSV):

• PSU went ahead 18-12 after three straight Dolphins' errors and the Panthers still led 22-15, but CMSV scratched back to knot the score at 23-23. After trading points, senior Maria Wimpey (Concord, N.H.) found the floor and classmate Katie Townsend (Layton, Utah) served an ace for a 26-24 win.
• The Dolphins cruised out of the gates to take a 9-2 lead in set two. Kills by Flanagan and sophomore Elsa MacNeill (Acton, Mass.) with a block from junior Natalie Gravelle (Portsmouth, N.H.) brought the Panthers to within two, 18-16, but CMSV would recover and hold on for a 25-20 decision.
• Plymouth State limited the Dolphins offense the rest of the way and Rodriguez Martinez served the Panthers to an 11-4 lead. CMSV rebounded to cut the margin to 17-13, but freshman Lindsey Sanderson (Gilford, N.H.) had a big kill to stop the momentum as PSU earned a 25-17 victory.
• Plaza's two aces around kills from Flanagan and MacNeill and two Ryan blocks gave PSU a 9-2 advantage in set four and Plymouth State wouldn't look back. Price's ace extended the lead to 18-9 and a pair of Dolphins' errors wrapped up the 25-16 win.

By the Numbers (CMSV):

• Flanagan and Ryan powered the offense as both reached double-digit kill totals while hitting .500 or better. Flanagan notched 13 kills (.545 pct.) and added two blocks, while Ryan contributed 10 kills (.500 pct.) with three blocks. Wimpey chipped in with nine kills.
• Price handed out 40 assists to go with four kills and 13 digs.
• Plaza had a match-high 21 digs and three aces, while Rodriguez Martinez also reached 10 digs.
• After hitting .268 over the first two matches the PSU defense limited CMSV to just .030 the rest of the way.
• Plymouth State finished with 56 kills, including 17 in the opening set.
• It was just the second meeting between the two schools, with PSU also winning in four sets when they met in 2019.

 
Up Next:

• Plymouth State heads to the University of Southern Maine on Wednesday (Oct. 13) for a 7:00 p.m. LEC contest with the Huskies.