Volleyball Falls to Plymouth in Non-Conference Match

WESTFIELD, Mass. – Plymouth State senior Lilli Stogner (Weare, N.H.) and graduate student Nora Ryan (Groton, Conn.) each collected double digit kills to lead the Panthers to a 3-0 non-conference victory over Westfield State on Saturday morning from the Woodward Center in Westfield, Mass.

The Owls, playing in their second match inside a 24-hour span and third game in four nights, fall to 13-12 on the season while the Panthers continue to stack up wins, earning their 22^nd victory of the season to just three losses.

After losing the first three points of the first set, Westfield bounced back by tallying seven of the next eight points highlighted by back-to-back service aces by Emily Washkalavitch (Oxford, Penn.) to give the Owls a 7-4 lead.

Trailing by three points, the Panthers ripped off seven consecutive points with Aynslee King (Anacortes, Wash.) and Lindsey Sanderson (Gilford, N.H.) registering two kills each during the run, forcing an Owls timeout. Westfield would cut into the deficit by three points on two separate occasions late in the set, but a kill from Emma Hampton (Durham, N.H.) followed by an attacking error for the Owls secured the set one victory.

Plymouth carried the momentum from the opening frame into the middle stanza where the Panthers would score the first eight points of the set, seven coming on the service game of Makayla Marucci (Newton, Mass.) who had three aces on the match.

Trailing 13-5 in the middle of the set, the Owls attempted to creep back into the set, tallying five of the next seven points to trim the deficit to five points after a kill from Emma Nihill (Chandler, Ariz.). An Owls attacking error thwarted the run as the Panthers would retaliate by adding four straight points capped by a pair of aces from Danielle Emerson (Biddeford, Maine) to put the set out of reach.

Ryan put the finishing touches on a three-set sweep for Plymouth, registering six kills in the third set to seal the victory for the Panthers.

Hanna Nihill (Chandler, Ariz.) and Emma Nihill both had four kills for Westfield while Siobhan Meyer (Long Island, N.Y.) added three kills. Morgan Dority (Walpole, Mass.) led the Owls with nine assists. Sarah Bingham (Reno, Nev.) contributed a solo block and three block assists.

Emerson and Riley McDonough (Gilford, N.H.) logged 15 assists apiece and Marucci added 15 digs for the Panthers.

Westfield State, which secured the top seed in the MASCAC Tournament after their 3-0 win over Worcester last night, will wrap up the regular season with a conference meeting against Fitchburg State on Thursday at 7:00 P.M. from the Woodward Center in Westfield, Mass. Plymouth State will host Colby-Sawyer in a non-conference match on Wednesday at 4:00 P.M.