Plymouth Starts to Gain Momentum as the Playoffs Near

After losing three consecutive games, Plymouth State's Women's Volleyball team is back on a role, defeating both Smith and Mount Holyoke last Saturday to give them a five game winning streak. This streak puts the Panther's record at 17-8 overall, while they are still 3-1 in Little East Conference play.

The middle of the five game streak featured the Panther's defeating St. Michael's, which is where head coach Chris Kilmer had coaches the previous three years. On returning to St. Michael's, I figured Coach Kilmer would be nervous, but he wasn't. Kilmer stated that "I wouldn't say I was nervous for the game, but it was a very awkward feeling walking into the gym for the first time as a visiting coach". Helping the Panthers in this victory include seniors Danielle Stoodley (Salem, N.H.) and Sarah Cady (Holliston, Mass.) as well as junior Casey Stoodley (Salem, N.H.). Cady had 39 assists in the match while the Stoodley's combined for 39 digs. Casey Stoodley also had 14 kills, which allowed her to get another double-double.

As far as weekend play went, the Panthers defeated Smith and Mount Holyoke a combined six sets to one. Allie Jones (Canton, Mass.), who has been named on various all-tournament teams throughout the year, had her second-highest amount of kills on the year with 19. Meghan Sullivan (Marlton, N.J.) and Elissa Morin (Nashua, N.H.) also had great games, combining for 16 kills against Smith. The Mount Holyoke game featured the usual suspects, as Allie Jones had three service aces, Sarah Cady had 34 assists, and the Stoodley's had 27 combined kills.

Between all four matches last week (including the three sets to none win over Southern Maine), Coach Kilmer was obviously pleased to come away with four big road wins to give his team some momentum. Kilmer said that "last week was definitely a tough week for us, playing four matches on the road" but that "we came through it 4-0 and I'm very proud of the way we were able to handle that". Winning road games during the middle of the season is big to any team, and stringing together a couple of games in a row does wonders for a team.

Having five of the final six matches at home should allow for the Panthers to improve their seed for the playoffs, as they have had only one home game since September 28^th. Playing at home is something that Coach Kilmer is looking forward to. Said Kilmer "it will be nice to play in front of our home crowd five of the last six matches". The Panthers have shown that they are road tested so far this year, and it should be interesting to see if they can keep up their momentum at home. As Kilmer said, "we've played well at home and on the road all season" so Kilmer is confident in his team ability.

The Panther's would appreciate it if you would come down to Foley Gym as they take on Little East Conference rival Eastern Connecticut State University tomorrow at noon.