Panther Volleyball Shuts Down Salem State

Plymouth N.H.- The Panther volleyball team took care of business this past Tuesday night as they shut out Salem State, three games to none at Foley gymnasium. The Lady Panthers improve their overall record to 22-10 and have received a share of the Little East championship. The first game started out fast paced as both teams looked sharp right off the get go. Both offenses countered off each other, as the Vikings gave Plymouth all they could handle early on. The Panthers had trouble digging the ball out as the Viking frontcourt found all the right spots to put the ball. The score remained tied throughout the entire game as both teams failed to come up with any defensive stands. The Panthers began to pull away but Salem State kept it close, junior Becky Ciulla played well towards the end of the game with some key blocks shutting down the Viking frontcourt. Plymouth took the game 30-24. Ciulla continued her dominance in the second game with three aces in the opening minutes of the game as Plymouth took an early lead. The Panther defense anchored down and came up with some good digs, but the Vikings frontcourt came right back led by Junior Estrella Kuilan who blocked any offensive opportunity by the Panthers. Both teams playing exceptionally well but Salem State made some mistakes that would hurt them later on. The Panthers began to capitalize and played excellent team volleyball as they took a convincing lead and never looked back, they won the game 30-19. The third game was no different as the first two as the Panther frontcourt continued to play well as PSU took an early lead spiking the ball at will. Once again the Panther players fed off each other making good clean passes in front of the net, which led to some good shots. Plymouth pulled away early in the game, as their offense was too much to handle for the Vikings. The third and final game came to a close as Plymouth won 30-17 and swept the series decisively. Two Panther players that came up big throughout the game were junior co-captains Kim Krause and Kelly Landry. Krause led the defensive effort as Landry had shot after shot leading the way for the offense to take control. The Panthers will travel to the Brandeis Tournament this weekend to finish up their regular season.