EMMANUEL FALLS TO PLYMOUTH STATE IN ECAC VOLLEYBALL ACTION
Nov. 11, 2009
PLYMOUTH, N.H. - The Emmanuel Women's Volleyball Team wrapped up the 2009 season with a 3-0 loss to Plymouth State University in the opening round of the Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference (ECAC) Tournament. The host Panthers entered the match as the top seed in the New England tournament and swept the 8th-seeded Saints, 3-0 (25-16, 25-15, 25-21), in Plymouth's Foley Gymnasium. Emmanuel finished the 2009 campaign with an overall record of 18-14, as the Saints were making the program's second ECAC Tournament appearance.
The defending ECAC champions stormed out to an early lead in the opening set. PSU was led by the strong offensive play of seniors Eliza Badeau (Foster, R.I.) and Carly Newton (Centerville, Mass.). The Saints had no answer for the powerful hitters and the Panthers cruised to an easy 25-16 win over the Saints in set one.
Emmanuel hung tough early in the second set and battled to a 9-9 tie, before gaining a 10-9 advantage. However, PSU went on a 12-2 run to take a 21-12 lead late in the game. The Panthers managed 4 more points to just 3 by the Saints and ended the set at 25-15. The Panthers' final set point came on a huge backrow hit by sophomore Meghan Sullivan (Marlton, N.J.) to give PSU a 2-0 match lead.
Strong serving by sophomore outside hitter Jenna Ross (Centerburg, Ohio), including two-straight aces, gave the Saints a quick 7-2 lead to start set three and forced a Panther timeout. A kill from Emmanuel's Megan Murray (Killingworth, Conn.) made it 8-2, before Badeau found the floor for the Panthers, bringing the score to 8-3 in favor of the Saints. A hitting error by Plymouth and two-straight kills by Murray put Emmanuel on top, 11-3, and forced Plymouth's 12th-year Head Coach Moira Long to call her second timeout of the set.
PSU came out of the timeout with a kill and a solo block by Badeau, bringing the set score to 11-5. The two Badeau points were part of a 6-1 Panther run, which forced Coach Seals to call a timeout at 12-9. The Panthers then managed to knot things up a 13-13. The two teams traded points for ties at 14-all and 15-all. A Plymouth serving error, another ace by Ross, and a Murray kill brought the margin to 18-15, Saints.
The Panthers continued to chip away and brought the deficit to 19-17, before Emmanuel rookie Rachel Swiezynski (Exeter, N.H.) sent back a strong solo block and Emmanuel led 20-17. A Saints' hitting error, followed by three monster kills from Badeau gave Plymouth a 21-20 lead and forced another EC timeout. A final kill by Murray was sandwiched by two Emmanuel receiving errors and two Saints' hitting errors, and the visitors were defeated 25-21 in the final set.
Badeau recorded a match-high 18 kills with a .451 attack percentage, while senior setter Brianna Kleckner (Terryville, Conn.) registered 36 set assists and a team-high six service aces to lead the Panther attack. Plymouth State also got seven kills Sullivan and six from Newton, while sophomore Elissa Morin (Nashua, N.H./South) added four kills and four aces. Sophomore Alex Avery (Milton, N.H.) and junior Kelsey Petty (Salem, N.H.) anchored the defense with 17 and 15 kills, respectively.
Emmanuel, which was making its first ECAC post-season appearance since falling to Plymouth State in 2003, gave a strong effort in the losing cause. Murray led the Saints with a double-double of 10 kills and 12 digs, both team highs, while Ross added seven kills and four aces.
The win improved PSU to 9-1 at home this season. The Panthers, 31-5 overall, will advance to the ECAC semifinals on Saturday, which will be held at Plymouth State. PSU will meet fourth-seeded Western New England College (27-9) Saturday at 12 noon in the first semifinal. The championship match will take place Saturday at 5:00 p.m. at Foley Gym. WNEC advanced to the semifinals with a 3-1 victory over fifth-seeded Endicott College on Wednesday evening.
The other semifinal will have third-seeded Coast Guard (26-5) meeting seventh-seeded Colby-Sawyer College (20-13) Saturday at 2:00 p.m. Coast Guard downed sixth-seeded Johnson & Wales University Wednesday, 3-1, while Colby-Sawyer upset second-seeded Brandeis, 3-2.
Saturday's semifinal matchup between PSU and WNEC will be the second meeting this season between the two schools. The Panthers edged the Golden Bears, 3-2, in the Tom Hay Invitational last month at Springfield College, winning 15-11 in the fifth and decisive set.