PLYMOUTH, N.H. – Freshman Lilli Stogner (Weare, N.H.) notched a team-high 14 kills, but fifth-seeded Eastern Connecticut State University, behind a match-best 20 kills from senior Anna Barry (Andover, Conn.), upset top-seeded Plymouth State University, 3-1 (25-21, 25-22, 20-25, 25-12) in the semifinals of the Little East Conference (LEC) women's volleyball tournament at Foley Gymnasium on Thursday night.
 
Eastern Connecticut advances to Saturday's championship game, while Plymouth State will have to wait for a potential at-large berth to the NCAA Tournament. The field will be announced Monday afternoon.
 
The Warriors led for the majority of the first set and staved off a late PSU rally to grab the early lead. Set two went back-and-forth with the Panthers nursing a 22-21 lead late, but ECSU stormed back with the final four points of the set for the commanding 2-0 lead.
 
Plymouth State had rallied from similar deficits three other times this fall and the team looked poised to do it again using a long 6-0 surge to build a lead that it would not relinquish to take the third set, but the Warriors raced out to a 14-2 lead in set four and Plymouth State was unable to rally.
 
PSU ends the season with a 23-3 mark and will have to wait for the NCAA Tournament selection show on Monday (12:30 p.m. on NCAA.com) to learn its postseason fate.
 
Eastern Connecticut improves to 18-7 and will visit second-seeded University of Massachusetts Boston for Saturday's title game.
 
The Basics:

• Plymouth State 1, Eastern Connecticut St. 3
  • Plymouth State (23-3)
  • Eastern Connecticut St. (18-7)

How it Happened:

• The Warriors used a 7-1 spurt with three kills from senior Abby Stern (Manchester, Conn.) to build an early 8-3 lead in the first set. Stogner notched back-to-back kills to slow the momentum and later a block from sophomore Nora Ryan (Groton, Conn.) and freshman Lindsey Sanderson (Gilford, N.H.) pulled the Panthers to within one, 15-14. ECSU answered with four-straight points and would maintain a four-point lead the rest of the way to take the opening set 25-21.
• Stogner's kill and an Eastern Connecticut error gave the Panthers a 9-5 lead early in set two, but the Warriors scored the next five points to take the lead. The teams stayed neck-and-neck from there. Junior Natalie Gravelle (Portsmouth, N.H.) pounded consecutive kills to give the hosts a 22-21 advantage, but a PSU net violation sparked the Warriors and Barry's kill closed out a 25-22 ECSU win.
• Confident in the ability to erase a two-set deficit, PSU came out focused in set three and Ryan's kill and ace put the Panthers ahead 12-9. Eastern Connecticut got a sideout, but Gravelle snuck an attack past the Warriors' defense and Sanderson served five straight points for an 18-10 lead. ECSU was able to trim the margin to 22-19, but Ryan slammed home a kill and followed with an ace to give PSU a 25-20 victory.
• Set four was all Eastern Connecticut as the Warriors scored the first four points and never looked back. After trading service errors, the visitors scored the next seven points with four kills from Barry to build a 12-1 advantage. Ryan and Sanderson teamed up for a pair of blocks and senior Alexa Price (Moultonborough, N.H.) served an ace as the Panthers trimmed the margin to 14-7, but Barry answered with another kill and Plymouth State was unable to get any closer as the Warriors finished off the upset with a 25-12 win.

By the Numbers:

• Stogner finished with 14 kills and four blocks while hitting .250. Junior Emilee Flanagan (Milton, N.H.) added ten kills and two blocks, while Ryan chipped in eight kills, six blocks and two aces.
• Price paced the PSU offense with 39 assists and six digs, while junior Marissa Plaza (Folsom, Calif.) recorded a team-best 22 digs. Freshman Makayla Marucci (Newton, Mass.) also had a strong game defensively, finishing with 11 digs.
• Barry finished with a match-high 20 kills and added four blocks. She hit .326.
• Stern put up an impressive double-double of 16 kills and 15 digs, while senior Alaetra Long (Lincoln, Neb.) added eight kills and 16 digs.
• Senior Meg Verizzi (Lebanon, Conn.) posted 53 assists while junior Paula Perez (Caguas, Puerto Rico) had a match-high 25 digs.
• The game was a rematch of the 2019 semifinals when PSU, as the third seed, upset the second-seeded Warriors in five sets to advance to the title match.

Up Next:

• Plymouth State will hope for an at-large berth in the NCAA Tournament when the field is revealed on Monday (Nov. 8) at 12:30 p.m.
• Eastern Connecticut advances to Saturday's (Nov. 6) championship match at second-seeded University of Massachusetts Boston.