WILLIMANTIC, Conn. – The Eastern Connecticut State University women's volleyball team attacked at .011 while Little East Conference leader Plymouth State University attacked at .513 as the Panthers swept the Warriors for the third straight season Saturday afternoon at Francis E. Geissler Gymnasium. Plymouth won by scores of 25-10, 25-8 and 25-12.
A winner of 22 of its last 23 conference regular-season games, Plymouth (18-2, 7-0) moved within two wins of its second unbeaten LEC regular season in three years while Eastern (10-11, 2-3) remains a half-game ahead of idle Rhode Island College for the sixth and final LEC tournament berth.
Later Saturday, Eastern was swept by Suffolk University, 25-21, 25-18, 25-12 in a non-conference match that extended Eastern's losing streak to four. The Warriors have lost their last ten sets.
In a non-conference match Saturday, Plymouth swept Suffolk (15-9), 25-14, 25-10, 25-22 for its 16 straight win overall and 13
th sweep (fifth straight) this year.
Against Eastern, Plymouth's Nora Ryan had ten kills without an error and five blocks to power the Panthers, who got four service aces and 17 digs from Makayla Marucci, and a combined 35 assists from Kalista Butler and Riley McDonough.
Juniors
Taylor Thompson (West Point, NY) and
Taylor Smith (Bowie, MD) combined for 11 kills for Eastern, sophomore
Liz Squier (Trevor, WI) set for ten assists and first-year player
Brooke Praskievicz (Moodus) had ten digs.
On the afternoon, Thompson led Eastern with ten kills, with Praskievicz following with nine. Squier and sophomore
Samantha Blandford (Windham, NH) combined for 38 assists, and Praskievicz and sophomore libero
Sadie Blackwell (Southbury) combined for 31 digs.
Eastern closes out the LEC regular season Monday with a makeup game at VTSU Castleton (0-5 LEC), Friday at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth (6-0 LEC) and ends the regular season by hosting the University of Massachusetts Boston (3-3 LEC) on Nov. 4.
