Women’s Volleyball Update

Kendal Lariviere

For The Clock

klariviere@plymouth.edu

After claiming a Little East Conference win over the University of Southern Maine on October 4th, the PSU Women’s Volleyball team traveled to Illinois to play four non-conference games in the Illinois Wesleyan Tournament during the weekend of October 7th. The Panthers went one and three in tournament play, then returned home to sweep Suffolk University on October 13th. Plymouth remained victorious through this past weekend, sweeping both matches versus Mount Holyoke College and Smith College in the LEC-NEWMAC Challenge hosted at Keene State College on October 15th.

During the first round of their Illinois trip, Plymouth split two matches, losing to Lincoln Christian University before downing Font-bonne University in five full sets. In the match against Lincoln Christian, senior Brianna Wojtas (Salem, NH) led the Panthers offensively with 13 kills. She was followed by freshman Alexis Bowers (Port St. Lucie, FL), who had nine kills. Junior Megan Bailey (Canterbury, NH) contributed with 39 assists. On defense, junior libero Brenna Peruch (Cave Creek, AZ) led with 20 digs. Sophomore Alisha Flanagan (Milton, NH) and senior Rachel Morrissey (Salem, NH) added 14 digs and 13 digs, re-spectively. Plymouth fell to Lincoln Christian with a final score of 3-1 (19-25,16-25, 25-20, 20-25). Wojtas led on offense once again in the win over Fontbonne, posting 14 kills. Senior Dani Tabor (Seattle, WA) followed close behind with 12 kills, and classmate Kayla Wyland (Melrose, MA) and junior Claire Sporer (Medford, OR) had 10 kills each. Bailey led the team once again with 48 assists. It was a big match defensively, with four PSU players claiming double digits in digs: Peruch with 21, Bailey with 13, Morrissey with 12, and Flanagan with 10. After five sets, PSU came out on top, beating Fontbonne 3-2 (25-16, 25-21, 14-25, 19-25, 15-9).

In the second day of tournament play, PSU dropped their final two matches to North Central College and Illinois Wesleyan University. Tabor and Sporer led the panthers on offense in the game against North Central, posting 14 kills and 13 kills, respectively. Bailey continued to coordinate the offense with 43 assists. Peruch led the team defensively, racking up 24 digs, while Wojtas had a good game all around, finishing with 10 kills and five blocks. Despite their valiant effort, Plymouth fell to North Central 3-1 (24-26, 25-14, 23-25, 28-30). Versus Illinois Wesleyan, Wojtas led the Plymouth offense with seven kills and Bailey contributed 16 assists. It was a tough game on defense, as Peruch chalked up just eight digs, while Bailey had five and Morrissey and Flanagan posted four digs each. The Panthers were unable to hang on to a lead in their final game of the tournament, and were swept by the hosts 3-0 (12-25, 17-25, 9-25). Wojtas was named to the All-Tournament Team for her outstanding efforts over the weekend.

Back at home in Foley Gymnasium, PSU completed a sweep of their own, beating Suffolk in another non-conference match Thursday, October 13th. Wyland led on offense, posting 11 kills on the night, and Wojtas followed closely with eight kills. Bailey chalked up four service aces and 16 assists before freshman Shannon Howland (Delmar, NY) took over in the third set, contributing with 10 assists. Peruch accounted for nearly one-third of PSU’s defensive digs, with nine total. The Panther offense was on fire and showed no signs of cooling off throughout the match, claiming their victory over Suffolk 3-0 (25-15, 25-8, 25-20).

Traveling to Keene over the weekend for the LEC-NEWMAC Challenge, PSU extended their winning streak with two sweeps over Mount Holyoke and Smith. In the opening match versus Mount Holyoke, Sporer had a solid game overall, chalking up 11 kills, 10 digs, and three aces. Wojtas and Tabor contributed offensively with eight kills and six kills each, as Bailey controlled the offense with 36 assists. Peruch and Sporer combined to lead on defense, posting 11 digs and 10 digs, respectively. Plymouth topped Mount Holyoke with a final score of 3-0 (25-14, 25-11, 25-20). Against Smith, Sporer slammed down a team-high 13 kills, followed by Tabor with eight kills. Wojtas and Wyland also chalked up seven kills apiece, while Bailey connected for 33 assists. Defensively, Peruch and Flanagan both racked up double figures, finishing with 11 digs each. The Panthers came back from a deficit in the first match that carried them to a back- and-forth game in the second set. PSU claimed the lead in the third set and refused to let it go, finally sweeping Smith 3-0 (25-18, 25-20, 25-16).

The Panthers played Keene State on Wednesday (Oct. 19), winning 3-1 and jumping into second in the LEC. At the time of print, The Clock had no further information.