WELLESLEY, Mass. – Seniors
Aynslee King (Anacortes, Wash.) and
Nora Ryan (Groton, Conn.) notched double-digit kills, but Wellesley College erased a two-set deficit to stun Plymouth State University, 3-2 (25-16, 25-18, 20-25, 22-25, 13-15), in non-conference women's volleyball action at Dorothy Towne Fieldhouse on Thursday night.
The setback snaps the Panthers' 16-match winning streak and is PSU's first loss in New England this season.
It looked like Plymouth State had things well in hand after hitting .370 in the opening set to cruise to a 25-16 win. The Panthers surged ahead in the middle stages of set two behind a 9-2 spurt to coast to a 25-18 victory for a commanding 2-0 lead.
The Blue battled back in set three. With the score knotted at 16-16, Wellesley score three straight points to take the lead for good, holding the Panthers at arm's length for a 25-20 decision. PSU led set four by a narrow 12-11 score, before the hosts used an 8-1 run to pull ahead. Plymouth State, trailing 24-17, fought off five set points, but Wellesley was able to force a decisive fifth set, 25-22.
PSU got out to a strong start with a 5-1 lead to force a timeout. The Blue regrouped out of the break, scoring six straight points to lead 8-6 at the switch. PSU rallied back to take the lead, 11-10, on a kill from junior
Lindsey Sanderson (Gilford, N.H.), but Wellesley answered for a 13-11 advantage. Junior
Lilli Stogner (Weare, N.H.) found the floor pull within 14-13, but the hosts secured the come-from-behind win with a kill.
Plymouth State slips to 18-3, while Wellesley evens out at 11-11.
The Basics:
- Plymouth State 2, Wellesley 3
- Plymouth State (18-3)
- Wellesley (11-11)
How it Happened:
- Stogner had a kill and ace and Ryan and freshman Emma Hampton (Durham, N.H.) teamed up for a block as PSU took a 9-3 lead early in the opener. Wellesley rallied to trim the margin to 13-10, but the Blue committed a slew of hitting errors to kill the momentum. The Panthers closed out the 25-16 win with three straight points on kills from Hampton and Sanderson around an ace from sophomore Riley McDonough (Gilford, N.H.).
- Set two remained close through the early stages, as the Panthers nursed a narrow 9-8 lead. King's kill and a McDonough ace helped extend the lead to 14-9 and the Plymouth State advantage continued to grow. Senior Ryley McNeeley (Easton, Mass.) smashed a kill to make it 23-15 and the Panthers would hang on for a 25-18 win.
- Neither team was able to build much of a lead through the majority of set three. Ryan slammed home a kill and joined forces with Hampton for a big block to square the set at 16-16, but Wellesley answered with three straight points and kept the Panthers at bay the rest of the way to extend the match with a 25-20 victory.
- Set four was the most competitive, featuring eight ties and six lead changes as the Panthers looked to extend their winning streak, while the Blue hoped to force a fifth set. Hampton ripped off consecutive aces for a 12-11 lead, but the hosts answered in kind with five straight points to take the lead for good. The Blue grabbed set point on a costly service error, but PSU didn't relent. Sanderson smacked a kill and a Wellesley error led to a timeout with the score 24-19. King and Sanders teamed up for a block and another Blue error and King kill tightened the score at 24-22, but the hosts escaped with a kill for a 25-22 win.
- Plymouth State got out to a quick start in the decisive fifth set, as sophomore Kalista Butler (Philipsburg, Pa.) served an ace for a 5-1 advantage. Wellesley didn't let the lead expand, though, then used a 6-0 spurt to go in front. King pounded consecutive kills and Sanderson found the floor for an 11-10 lead, but the Blue responded with back-to-back blocks to leapfrog back in front. Stogner kept the Panthers' hopes alive with her eighth kill of the match to pull within 14-13, but Wellesley closed out the dramatic 15-13 win with a kill.
By the Numbers:
- King had an outstanding match, slamming 12 kills with a .417 attack percentage in just four sets of action. She added three blocks to her stat line.
- Ryan finished with 11 kills and six blocks, while McNeeley chipped in nine kills.
- Stogner went for eight kills, six digs, two blocks and two aces, with Sanderson posting six kills and four blocks.
- Junior Makayla Marucci (Newton, Mass.) was phenomenal in the back row, leading all players with 34 digs while adding three aces and six assists.
- McDonough posted 20 assists, six digs and a pair of aces, while Butler added 18 assists and six digs.
- After recording just three attack errors through the first two sets, the Wellesley defense limited PSU to a .127 attack percentage over the final three. Plymouth State hit .198 for the match, its lowest efficiency since Sept. 19.
- Wellesley has won all four meetings between the two teams, with half of them going the distance.
Up Next:
- Plymouth State returns home for a non-conference tri-match on Saturday (Oct. 28). The Panthers host Westfield State at 11:00 a.m., then square off against Salve Regina at 3:00 p.m.
– 30 –
