PLYMOUTH, N.H. - Senior outside hitter
Julia Stoliker (Red Hook, N.Y.) — WestConn's leading scorer this season with 153 kills — continued to anchor the offense Saturday morning, but Plymouth State completed a straight-set sweep, 25-16, 25-8, 25-21, at Foley Gym to improve to 2-0 in Little East Conference play.
The Wolves actually opened the first set well, trading points with the Panthers through a stretch that saw Sophia Siruchek (Campbell Hall, N.Y.) and Hallie Robillard (Middletown, Conn.) each pick up kills to keep it close at 5-5. But Plymouth State's Alice Borriello Diaz went on a personal tear from there, reeling off service points that helped push the lead to 10-5, and the Panthers never let the visitors climb back, closing out the set 25-16.
The second set was where the match turned. Borriello Diaz opened with five straight service points — including four aces in a row on Stoliker, Sadie Casella, Siruchek and Teagan White — that blew the set open from the first serve, and Plymouth State cruised to a lopsided 25-8 win, its most dominant frame of the match.
WestConn showed more fight in the third, battling back from an early 13-11 Plymouth State lead only to see the hosts answer with a string of attack errors forced on the Wolves' front line. Sophomore Sophia Siruchek led all WestConn hitters with 10 kills and a team-best .300 hitting percentage, while Stoliker added five kills and an ace. Graduate student Taylor Thompson (West Point, N.Y.) chipped in three kills, and freshman setter Kyra Courtemanche (Hopewell Junction, N.Y.) ran the offense with 13 assists. Robillard and Casella each tallied 10 digs to pace the WestConn defense, but the Wolves couldn't overcome a steady stream of Plymouth State attacks, falling 25-21 to complete the sweep.
The Panthers got a team-high nine kills from Sya McKay and eight from Sydney Riley, who also added a match-best five blocks, while Borriello Diaz finished with a game-high six aces and setter Danielle Emerson dished 15 assists.
The loss drops WestConn to 3-12 overall and 1-1 in Little East Conference play, while Plymouth State improves to 11-3 and 2-0 in conference. The Wovles return to the court when they square off against visiting archrival Eastern Connecticut on Wednesday at 7 p.m.
