PLYMOUTH, N.H. – The Plymouth State University women's volleyball team was clicking on all cylinders on Thursday night, cruising past the University of Massachusetts Boston, 3-0 (25-21, 25-16, 25-10), in a Little East Conference (LEC) game at Foley Gymnasium.
The Panthers hit better than .300 for the match, with sophomore
Lilli Stogner (Weare, N.H.) and senior
Natalie Gravelle (Portsmouth, N.H.) combining for 25 kills while hitting .400 and .385, respectively. Junior
Ryley McNeeley (Easton, Mass.) added a career high seven kills without an error.
Plymouth State took control late in the opening set, using a 6-1 run to snap a 17-17 tie on the way to a 25-21 win. The Panthers built an early 13-7 advantage in the middle stanza, maintaining a five-point advantage the rest of the way before pulling away late for a 25-16 win. Stogner ripped off an impressive run from the service line to turn a 7-6 lead into a 16-6 advantage in set three and PSU rolled to a 25-10 win.
The game was PSU's annual
Lace Up for Pediatric Cancer game, with the team collecting donations to support the Go 4 the Goal Foundation.
Plymouth State wins its sixth match in a row and improves to 8-2 (2-0 LEC), while the Beacons fall to 2-9 overall and 0-2 in the Little East.
The Basics:
- Plymouth State 3, UMass Boston 0
- Plymouth State (8-2, 2-0 LEC)
- UMass Boston (2-9, 0-2 LEC)
How it Happened:
- The opening set started with back-and-forth action. McNeeley's kill gave the Panthers an early 7-4 lead, but UMass Boston leapfrogged in front with a five-point run. Stogner and senior Emilee Flanagan (Milton, N.H.) had back-to-back blocks and junior Nora Ryan (Groton, Conn.) had a pair of aces to put PSU back in front, 14-11. Plymouth State would maintain a slight edge until a three-point run by the Beacons tied the set at 17-17. McNeeley snapped the streak with a kill and consecutive aces from sophomore Lindsey Sanderson (Gilford, N.H.) gave the Panthers a lead they would not relinquish. Stogner had a pair of kills down the stretch to cap off the 25-21 win.
- Already leading 8-7, a Gravelle kill led to a five-point run for the hosts as PSU extended the margin to 13-7. The Panthers held UMass Boston at arms-length until a late run keyed by a huge double block by Flanagan and Gravelle helped the lead balloon to 22-13. A Beacons' error gave Plymouth State the 25-16 win.
- The Panthers trailed 4-3 early, but Stogner pounded down consecutive kills to take the lead, 7-4. UMass Boston pulled to within one, 7-6, but Stogner smashed a kill before an aggressive run at the service line put the game out of reach. Stogner ripped off two aces during the nine-point surge and PSU coasted from there, with Stogner's final kill wrapping up the dominating, 25-10 victory.
By the Numbers:
- Stogner finished with a match-best 13 kills, with Gravelle adding 12.
- McNeeley's career-high seven kills came on 15 swings without an error for a .467 attack percentage.
- Freshman Kalista Butler (Philipsburg, Pa.) had a career-best 32 assists and added eight digs and four kills.
- Stogner totaled three aces, with Ryan, Sanderson and sophomore Makayla Marucci (Newton, Mass.) contributing two apiece. As a team, PSU served up 10 aces, while the Beacons finished with none.
- Marucci paced the defense with 12 digs.
- The Panthers hit .301 as a team, while limiting UMass Boston to .145, including just .039 over the final two sets.
- Plymouth State has swept the last two meetings, beating the Beacons in back-to-back matches for the first time since 2007.
Up Next:
- The Panthers host Emmanuel College on Saturday (Sept. 24) during Plymouth State's 50 Years of Title IX – Celebrating the Women of Panther Athletics weekend. First serve is set for noon.
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