PLYMOUTH, N.H. – Senior Alexa Price (Moultonborough, N.H.) totaled 28 assists, including the 2,000th of her career, as Plymouth State University swept Saint Joseph's College, 3-0 (25-20, 25-10, 25-16) in a non-conference women's volleyball match at Foley Gymnasium on Tuesday night.
 
Price, who added three digs and a kill to her stat line, becomes the seventh player in program history to reach the milestone. Junior Emilee Flanagan (Milton, N.H.) led the Panthers' attack with 11 kills and a .625 attack percentage as PSU was in control throughout.
 
Plymouth State has now won 10 consecutive matches to open the season, the fourth-longest season-opening win streak in program history. The Panthers (10-0) will face their toughest test yet on Saturday (Sept. 25) when they travel to the University of Massachusetts Boston for a rematch of the 2019 LEC Tournament title match.
 
St. Joe's falls to 3-6.
 
The Basics:

• Plymouth State 3, St. Joe's 0
  • Plymouth State (10-0)
  • St. Joe's (3-6)

How it Happened:

• The teams went back-and-forth to start the opening set until a run of four straight points gave PSU a 9-7 lead. SJC briefly stopped the momentum, but a service error gave the ball back to the Panthers and freshman Imalay Rodriguez Martinez (Juncos, Puerto Rico) ripped back-to-back aces and a kill from classmate Lilli Stogner (Weare, N.H.) made it 13-8.
• PSU still led 20-18, when Price fed sophomore Nora Ryan (Groton, Conn.) in the middle for the milestone assist and the Panthers would go on to a 25-20 win.
• Stogner, freshman Lindsey Sanderson (Gilford, N.H.) and Flanagan all pounded down kills as PSU went ahead 14-6 in set two. Three straight Monks' errors and a kill by sophomore Elsa MacNeill (Acton, Mass.) ballooned the lead to 20-9 and Rodriguez Martinez added another ace in a game-ending five-point run to account for a 25-10 final score.
• The Panthers jumped out to a quick 6-1 lead in the third set behind a pair of kills and a block by freshman Morgan Drinkwater (Steep Falls, Maine). Saint Joseph's rallied to take a 9-8 lead, but Rodriguez Martinez added two aces around a kill from Stogner and two Monks' errors to make it a 13-9 game. The Panthers used a 7-1 spurt to put the game out of reach and a St. Joe's missed serve gave PSU a 25-16 victory.

By the Numbers:

• PSU hit .342 for the match, including an incredible .545 in the second set (14-2-22). The Panthers limited St. Joe's to an .036 attack percentage.
• Flanagan led all players with her 11 kills, while MacNeill finished with four kills on five swings.
• Rodriguez Martinez served up a match-high five aces and added six digs.
• Junior Marissa Plaza (Folsom, Calif.) led the Panthers with 10 digs, followed closely by eight from freshman Makayla Marucci (Newton, Mass.).
• The program record for consecutive wins to open a season is 20, set during the team's inaugural season in 1996.

 
Up Next:

• The Panthers return to Little East Conference (LEC) action on Saturday (Sept. 25) when they visit the University of Massachusetts Boston for a 2:30 p.m. contest. The game will be a rematch of the 2019 LEC Tournament finals.