PLYMOUTH, N.H. – Sophomore Elsa MacNeill (Acton, Mass.) pounded down 13 kills and freshman Lindsey Sanderson (Gilford, N.H.) and sophomore Nora Ryan (Groton, Conn.) each added nine as Plymouth State University stormed back from an 0-2 deficit to knock off Eastern Nazarene College, 3-2 (17-25, 23-25, 25-14, 25-20, 15-9), in a non-conference women's volleyball match at Foley Gymnasium on Wednesday night.
 
ENC squeaked out a narrow win in set two to build a commanding 2-0 lead, but Plymouth State overpowered the visitors behind five kills from Ryan in the third set. PSU got out to a lead to start the fourth set and held on late to send the match to a deciding fifth set.
 
Ryan, Sanderson and freshman Lilli Stogner (Weare, N.H.) combined for 10 kills in the final set as the Panthers led for the duration.
 
Plymouth State improves to 3-0, while Eastern Nazarene drops to 1-5.
 
The Basics:

• Plymouth State 3, Eastern Nazarene 2
  • Plymouth State (3-0)
  • Eastern Nazarene (1-5)

How it Happened:

• ENC held a narrow lead throughout much of the first set until three straight points pushed the advantage to 16-9, forcing a Plymouth State timeout. The Panthers tried to chip away at the margin, with MacNeill notching a pair of kills and a block as part of a 3-0 run, but a Lions' kill gave the visitors a 25-17 win in set one.
• Neither team was able to grab much of an advantage in the second set. Ryan's ace knotted the game at 20-20, but back-to-back kills by the visitors put Eastern Nazarene back in front. A kill by junior Natalie Gravelle (Portsmouth, N.H.) cut the margin to 22-21, but the teams traded points the rest of the way as the visitors held on for a 25-23 win to take a commanding 2-0 lead.
• PSU used a 6-1 spurt to take a 16-9 lead in set three behind a pair of Gravelle kills and two aces from senior Alexa Price (Moultonborough, N.H.). ENC momentarily pulled to within four, 16-12, but MacNeill and Ryan combined for five kills and teamed up for a huge block as the hosts extended the match with a commanding 25-14 win.
• Sanderson found the floor as Plymouth State ran out to a 10-3 lead early in the fourth. PSU still led by seven, 18-11, but the Lions mounted a furious rally to pull to within 19-17. The Panthers forced five ENC errors the rest of the way, however, to hold on for a 25-20 win and force a decisive fifth set.
• The deciding set was all Plymouth State. Stogner got things started with a big kill to spark PSU to a 5-0 lead. Sanderson smashed back-to-back kills and the hosts never looked back as Stogner's kill completed the dramatic comeback.

By the Numbers:

• Junior Marissa Plaza (Folsom, Calif.) led all players with 18 digs, while Price posted game highs of 41 assists and five aces. Price also chipped in with 15 digs.
• MacNeill did the heavy lifting early, notching nine of her team-high 13 kills over the first two sets.
• Ryan and Sanderson finished with nine kills apiece. Ryan hit .400 (9-1-20) and added four aces and four blocks to her stat line.
• Plymouth State hit .550 in the fifth set thanks to 12 kills with just one error.
• After the Lions hit .299 through the first two sets, PSU's defense kicked into another gear limiting the visitors to just an -.013 attack percentage the rest of the way.
• The two teams' only other meeting came in the Fall of 2019, when ENC rallied from an 0-2 deficit to snap the Panthers' nine-match winning streak.

 Up Next:

• Plymouth State remains at home for a tri-match on Saturday (Sept. 11). The Panthers host St. Michael's College at noon before squaring off against the University of New England at 4:00 p.m.