STANDISH, Maine – For the second straight match, sophomore
Lilli Stogner (Weare, N.H.) and junior
Nora Ryan (Groton, Conn.) provided the bulk of the firepower as Plymouth State University rolled to a 3-1 (23-25, 25-20, 25-10, 25-17) win over Saint Joseph's College in non-conference women's volleyball action at the Harry Alfond Center on Tuesday night.
The dynamic duo combined for 29 kills while hitting at a .411 clip and Plymouth State rallied from a slow start to top the Monks.
PSU nearly rallied from a late, five-point deficit in the opening set, dropping a 25-23 decision, before evening the match after a strong, 25-20 win in set two. The Panthers rolled in set three, jumping out to a double-digit lead and never slowing down for a dominating 25-10 win, before polishing off the match by pounding down 18 kills on the way to a 25-17 win in set four.
Plymouth State wins its fifth straight match to improve to 7-2, while the St. Joe's dips to 4-8.
The Basics:
- Plymouth State 3, St. Joe's 1
- Plymouth State (7-2)
- St. Joe's (4-8)
How it Happened:
- The Panthers got out to a slow start in the opening set, falling behind 9-3 early on. The hosts still led by five, 21-16, late but PSU clawed back. Back-to-back kills from senior Emilee Flanagan (Milton, N.H.) and Stogner coupled with a Monks' error cut the margin to 21-20. The hosts recovered to go up 24-21, but again Plymouth State rallied to pull within one, 24-23, before a St. Joe's block closed it out.
- Roles reversed in set two, as Plymouth State raced out to a 12-4 advantage after a long service run from freshman Riley McDonough (Gilford, N.H.). Stogner had three kills in the spurt, with Ryan adding two. St. Joe's chipped away to cut the lead to 19-17, but the Panthers maintained control as Ryan and sophomore Lindsey Sanderson (Gilford, N.H.) teamed up for a block. Sanderson's ace made it 23-19 and three points later PSU wrapped up the 25-20 win to pull even.
- The pivotal third set was all Panthers, as sophomore Makayla Marucci (Newton, Mass.) helped the green and white jump ahead by an 11-3 margin. Plymouth State never let off the gas, continuing to add to the lead and a Monks' service error gave the Panthers a 25-10 win.
- The PSU offense cruised in set four as the team pounded down 18 kills and hit .333. Kills from junior Ryley McNeeley (Easton, Mass.) and sophomore Morgan Drinkwater (Steep Falls, Maine) helped the Panthers grab an 18-13 advantage and two late kills by Stogner with a St. Joe's error ended the match.
By the Numbers:
- Stogner finished with a match-high 16 kills and hit .375. She had six kills on just eight swings without an error in the fourth set alone and added two aces and eight digs to her stat line.
- Ryan added 13 kills with a .458 attack percentage to go with six digs and four blocks, while Flanagan chipped in six kills.
- McDonough posted 15 assists in the first two sets, with freshman Kalista Butler (Philipsburg, Pa.) added 14 over the last two.
- Marucci notched a match-best 19 digs, while sophomore Imalay Rodriguez Martinez (Juncos, Puerto Rico) and Sanderson both reached double digits with 11 and 10, respectively.
- PSU hit .213 for the match. After hitting .146 over the first two, PSU found its groove late to hit .311 in sets three and four.
- Plymouth State improves to 19-2 all-time against the Monks.
Up Next:
- Plymouth State gets back into Little East Conference (LEC) play on Thursday (Sept. 22), when UMass Boston heads to Foley Gymnasium for a 6:00 p.m. contest and the Panthers' Lace Up for Pediatric Cancer game.
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