BIDDEFORD, Maine – Plymouth State University capitalized on 15 University of New England service errors to sweep the Nor'easters, 3-0 (25-19, 25-21, 25-21), in a non-conference women's volleyball match at Harold Alfond Forum on Wednesday night.
Plymouth State's offense struggled to get into a rhythm in the opening two sets, but a combination of strong serving and UNE service errors allowed the Panthers to build a 2-0 lead. PSU closed out the sweep with a strong offensive showing in the third set, hitting a match-high .257 with 12 kills to seal the victory.
Plymouth State improves to 8-3, while the Nor'easters fall to 4-3.
The Basics:
- Plymouth State 3, UNE 0
- Plymouth State (8-3)
- UNE (4-3)
How it Happened:
- Junior Sydney Riley (Haverhill, Mass.) slammed a kill to give the Panthers a 9-5 lead early in the opening set, but UNE rallied with an 8-2 burst to take the lead. A service error – one of UNE's five errors in the set – gave PSU the ball back, and sophomores Sya McKay (Somersworth, N.H.) and Fiona Bailey (Wrentham, Mass.) teamed up for a block to start a four-point run as the Panthers went back in front. McKay served Plymouth State to a 20-14 lead, and the teams traded points from there, with Riley slamming home a final kill for a 25-19 win.
- Senior Annalyn Cahill (Mystic, Conn.) and Riley pounded consecutive kills to build a 7-3 lead and force an early timeout. PSU continued to expand the lead, going ahead 19-11, as more UNE service errors prevented the hosts from building any momentum. The Nor'easters mounted a late charge, but the Panthers held on as UNE's eighth missed serve of the set handed PSU a 25-21 victory.
- UNE scored the first three points of set three, but the Panthers stayed close, and a solo block from freshman Maddie Andrade (Hooksett, N.H.) gave PSU a 9-8 lead. The offense kicked in from there, with McKay and Andrade providing multiple kills to grow the lead to 17-11. A Riley kill made it 23-14 before UNE attempted to claw back. The Nor'easters ran four straight points to force a timeout, but Riley's kill out of the break stopped the run as the Panthers closed out the 25-21 win.
By the Numbers:
- Riley led the PSU offense with seven kills and a block, while McKay chipped in five kills, two aces and three blocks.
- Cahill and Andrade chipped in six and five kills, respectively. Cahill hit a team-best .308.
- Junior Danielle Emerson (Biddeford, Maine) finished with 13 assists and five digs.
- Sophomores Alice Borriello Diaz (Toa Baja, Puerto Rico) and Alexa Marucci (Newton, Mass.) combined for five aces and seven digs.
- Senior Christa Imbriano (Wakefield, Mass.) registered a match-best 13 digs.
- UNE had more kills (33-27), assists (31-25), digs (50-38) and blocks (9-5), but the Panthers won the service game. Plymouth State finished with eight aces and eight errors, while UNE had five aces and 15 service errors.
- Plymouth State improves to 13-1 in the series.
Up Next:
- The Panthers open Little East Conference (LEC) play at Rhode Island College on Saturday (Sept. 26). First serve against the Anchorwomen is set for 11 a.m.
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