PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. – The Plymouth State University women's volleyball team split a pair of matches on day two of the Cardinal Classic at Plattsburgh State, holding off NCAA Division II St. Michael's College, 3-2 (27-25, 25-17, 23-25, 18-25, 15-12), before falling to Coast Guard, 3-1 (22-25, 16-25, 25-17, 17-25), at Memorial Hall Gymnasium on Saturday.
Plymouth State looked poised to sweep the D-II Purple Knights after taking a 2-0 lead, but SMC roared back to win set three and four. The decisive set was tight throughout, until PSU was able to finally pull away late, 15-12.
Coast Guard scored the final three points to snap a 22-22 tie in set one, then won the second set by a 25-16 margin. The Bears raced out to a 5-0 lead in set three, but Plymouth State came back. With the score tied at 15-15, the Panthers ran off seven straight points and never looked back to post a 25-17 win. Coast Guard returned the favor in set four, using a 6-0 spurt to take a 19-10 lead before closing out the match, 25-17.
Plymouth State moves to 2-2 on the year, while St. Michael's falls to 1-6. Coast Guard remains unbeaten at 5-0.
The Basics:
- Plymouth State 3, St. Michael's 2
- Plymouth State 1, Coast Guard 3
- Plymouth State (2-2)
- St. Michael's (1-6)
- Coast Guard (5-0)
How it Happened (St. Michael's):
- The offenses were clicking in set one, as PSU pounded out 15 kills and St. Michael's notched 16. Plymouth State was able to score the final two points to snap a 25-25 tie and earn a hard-fought first set win.
- Set two was another competitive battle in the early going, with seven ties. Plymouth State was able to limit the Purple Knights' offense to a negative attack percentage, though, and PSU was an impressive 10-of-18 on sideouts to earn a 25-17 win and go up 2-0.
- SMC rallied in the third set, another back-and-forth affair that saw ten ties and two lead changes, before inching out a 25-23 win.
- The Purple Knights forced a decisive fifth set after a 25-18 win, but Plymouth State was able to hold SMC at arms-length down the stretch to win the match with a 15-12 victory in set five.
By the Numbers (St. Michael's):
- Sophomore Lilli Stogner (Weare, N.H.) led PSU with 14 kills, while classmate Morgan Drinkwater (Steep Falls, Maine) added 11.
- Junior Aynslee King (Anacortes, Wash.) had seven kills while hitting an efficient .375, and junior Ryley McNeeley (Easton, Mass.) chipped in four kills without an error.
- Freshmen Riley McDonough (Gilford, N.H.) and Kalista Butler (Philipsburg, Pa.) split the setting duties, combining for 45 assists.
- Plymouth State fired off 19 aces, including seven from Stogner and six from Butler.
- Sophomore Mikayla Marucci (Newton, Mass.) paced a quartet of Panthers with double-digit digs. Marucci finished with 15, while classmate Imalay Rodriguez Martinez (Juncos, Puerto Rico) added 12. Butler and Stogner contributed 10 apiece.
- The Panthers improve to 7-1 all-time against St. Michael's.
How it Happened (Coast Guard):
- The first set was back-and-forth throughout. Drinkwater's kill tied the game at 19-19, but the Bears went up with back-to-back points. A pair of Coast Guard errors knotted the game at 21-21 and moments later senior Emilee Flanagan (Milton, N.H.) found the floor to make it 22-22, but that would be the last point PSU scored. The Bears would run off the final three points for a 25-22 win.
- Coast Guard built an early 10-3 lead in set two and maintained the advantage the rest of the way. McNeeley's kill pulled PSU to within 20-16, but that was as close as the Panthers would get as the Bears ran off the final five points.
- The Bears jumped out to a 5-0 lead in set three, but Plymouth State refused to fold. Sophomore Lindsey Sanderson (Gilford, N.H.) smashed a kill to spark a four-point run as PSU evened the set at 9-9. Things remained tight until another Sanderson kill led to a 7-0 surge and the Panthers forced a fourth set when Flanagan's kill closed out the 25-17 win.
- Set four stayed close until the Bears ran off six straight points to take a 19-10 lead. PSU tried to rally, but Coast Guard was able to close out the match with the 25-17 win.
By the Numbers (Coast Guard):
- PSU slammed down 17 kills and hit .359 in the set three win.
- Stogner posted another double-double, already her third of the year, with 12 kills and 12 digs. She hit .278.
- Flanagan added nine kills, while McDonough posted 36 assists and 12 digs.
- Marucci established yet another career high, patrolling the back line for 22 digs.
- Coast Guard has won eight of nine meetings between the two teams, including each of the last seven.
Up Next:
- The Panthers visit NVU-Lyndon on Wednesday (Sept. 7) for a rare midweek tri-match with NVU-Johnson and the host Hornets.
– 30 –
