PLYMOUTH, N.H. – Top-seeded Plymouth State University held fourth-seeded Western Connecticut State University to an .018 attack percentage to sweep the Wolves, 3-0, in the semifinals of the Little East Conference (LEC) Women's Volleyball Tournament at Foley Gymnasium on Thursday evening.
Plymouth State improves to 25-3 and advances to Saturday's championship game, where the Panthers will play for the LEC title for the third straight year. PSU will host the winner of second-seeded UMass Dartmouth and third-seeded UMass Boston, a match that was still in progress at the time of release. WestConn has its season come to an end with a 16-14 record.
The Panthers scored six straight points to pull away from WestConn in set one before rolling to a 25-13 win. It was the Wolves with an early five-point edge in set two, but PSU surged into the lead with a 12-2 run midway through the set before closing out the 25-20 victory, and set three was all Panthers as the green-and-white coasted to the win with a 25-10 decision.
Plymouth State will look to capture its second LEC title on Saturday (Nov. 16) at 4:00 p.m. PSU's last crown came in the 2004 season.
The Basics:
- Plymouth State 3, WestConn 0
- Plymouth State (25-3)
- WestConn (16-14)
How it Happened:
- Things opened slowly for both teams as the game was deadlocked at 7-7. Senior Lindsey Sanderson (Gilford, N.H.) slammed a kill to spark a six-point run, with Sanderson adding another kill and contributing on a block during the surge. Moments later, graduate student Ryley McNeeley (Easton, Mass.) helped extend the lead to 19-10 with her kill and sophomore Emma Hampton (Durham, N.H.) would close out the 25-13 win with an ace.
- WestConn got out to a strong start in set two, winning six of the first seven points. The Wolves still led 11-5, when graduate student Aynslee King (Anacortes, Wash.) turned things around with a kill. PSU followed with three more points to cut into the deficit, but the visitors maintained the lead, 13-10. A missed serve gave the Panthers the ball back and senior Lilli Stogner (Weare, N.H.) ran off seven straight, with Hampton and graduate student Nora Ryan (Groton, Conn.) pounding two kills apiece during the spurt, as Plymouth State leapfrogged ahead, 17-13. WestConn made a late charge to cut the margin to 23-20, but a missed serve and attacking error gift-wrapped the Panthers the 25-20 victory.
- Freshman Danielle Emerson (Biddeford, Maine) used a well-time setter kill to spark a five-point spurt as PSU snagged an early 11-4 lead. Senior Riley McDonough (Gilford, N.H.) served back-to-back aces to extend the lead to double digits, 15-5, and the rout was on. Plymouth State kept its foot on the gas and a string of WestConn errors in the final points resulted in a 25-10 win for the home team.
By the Numbers:
- Ryan led the Panthers with eight kills and didn't commit an error (.400 attack pct.), while Sanderson hit .500 after notching seven kills on 12 attacks.
- King was also outstanding with six kills and a .625 hitting percentage.
- King and McNeeley posted three blocks apiece.
- Senior Makayla Marucci (Newton, Mass.) led all players with 23 digs, with classmate Imalay Rodriguez Martinez (Juncos, Puerto Rico) finishing with ten.
- Emerson posted 17 assists, five kills, two digs and an ace, while McDonough chipped in 13 assists, five digs, three aces and a kill.
- PSU hit .355 in the opening set and .267 for the match. The Wolves recorded as many errors as kills in set one and posted a negative attack percentage in set three, finishing the match at .018.
- Entering the match, Plymouth State was second in the nation in opponents' hitting percentage (.074).
- PSU has won each of the last seven meetings and 12 of the last 13.
- The Panthers will be playing in the championship match for the third straight year.
Up Next:
- Top-seeded Plymouth State will host the winner of second-seeded UMass Dartmouth and third-seeded UMass Boston in the championship match on Saturday (Nov. 16). First serve at Foley Gymnasium is set for 4:00 p.m.
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