PLYMOUTH, N.H. – Exactly one month ago, the Keene State College women's volleyball team might tell you they were searching for the right answers.  Today, in the second set of the Little East Conference tournament championship match at Plymouth State University's Foley Gymnasium, they might have again told you they were searching for the right answers as they faced a 23-12 deficit while staring a 2-0 hole in the match in the face.  Their search continued, and they did indeed find the right answers.  Second-seeded KSC came storming back to win that second set – and then the match – beating their in-state rival and LEC regular season champion Panthers on their home court 3-2 (16-25, 26-24, 21-25, 25-22, 15-11) to win their second league title and first since 2008.

Records

• Keene State:  13-14
• Plymouth State:  21-7

Highlights

Quotable

• "Stats don't always tell the story, do they?  This was a terrific win for our program.  This group overcame adversity all year, but they learned to play together and support each other.  I couldn't be more proud."  - Keene State head coach Bob Weiner

How It Happened
Plymouth State entered with a 21-6 record and went 7-1 in the conference's regular season slate – their only loss coming in a 3-0 sweep at the hands of the Owls at Spaulding Gymnasium in late September in which KSC was in firm control for the vast majority of the time.  They did not lose in the league again, and beat Eastern Connecticut State University 3-0 on Thursday night in the semifinals to get a chance to host the final on their home court for the second time in the last three full seasons, but in came KSC to spoil it by limiting PSU to a paltry .083 attacking percentage in each of the final two sets.

The match was filled with massive momentum swings throughout, the last of which was a 10-1 Owl barrage to start the championship-deciding fifth set.  Four kills from four different people (Molly Wetherbee, Sydney Johnson, Cassidy Samuelson, and Gigi Stake) helped KSC move out to a 5-1 lead, and later a big solo block from Wetherbee made it 8-1 as the teams switched sides.  The Owls were not done piling on, tacking on two more including a Johnson ace to take a nine-point lead as they could begin to sense their second league title.  With Plymouth's offense, which had hit .300 in taking a 2-1 match lead in the third set, totally out of sorts, a middle swing by Veronica Kroha brought up match point at 14-6.  The Panthers did notch four consecutive kills to get within shouting distance and then an Owl attacking error made it 14-11, but that was as close as they got.  PSU picked up a tip-over by KSC on what proved to be the final point, but the ball found Natalie Gravelle near the line, and her attempted cross-court swing was well wide, kicking off a Keene State celebration that was 14 years in waiting.

It was also a celebration that might not have seemed likely at several different points – whether it was when the Owls dropped 12 of their first 15 matches including an October 5 home non-conference tilt with Regis College (Mass.) where they hit sub-zero in each of the first two sets – or even today, when Plymouth pulled away to win the first set by nine (25-16) and then had a 23-12 lead in the second.  Much of the Panthers' 19 kill advantage in the stats came in that stretch.  Not so much at the end, as just like KSC found the answers over the course of October, they found them today as well.  The Owls furiously rallied in the second set to even the match, scoring 14 of the final 15 points after trailing by 11.  They chopped seven off of the Panthers' lead with their first big run, which culminated with a Grace Christian service ace sandwiched between two kills by Stake, two first years who proved to be big lineup answers over the course of October.  Stake emerged with 15 kills in a road win over the University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth, which ultimately proved to give KSC the No. 2 seed after the two teams tied with 6-2 league marks.  Ryley McNeely, who had 20 kills and no errors, hitting a stunning .588 on the match, seemed as though she might have stopped Plymouth's bleeding by bringing up set point at 24-20.  The Owls had other ideas, and the Panthers never scored again.  Stake's ace tied the set at 24, the first tie since it was 6-6 (KSC had led 5-3), and a kill by Kroha put KSC in the lead.  The Owls' senior captain Johnson, who finished with 14 kills, nine digs, and two aces, then blasted one through PSU's blockers for an improbable 26-24 set win that provided one of the initial dramatic shifts in momentum.

Keene State registered two blocks within the first five points of the third as they got off to a productive start and a 4-1 lead, but the Panthers scored four straight and from there it was a tight swing set.  Consecutive spikes by Wetherbee gave KSC a two-point (14-12) advantage, but PSU scored five of six to take their own 17-15 lead and never trailed again.  The set slipped away from the Owls when they made two attack errors and one block error on three straight points that made it 22-17, after which they could not recover.

Fighting for their season down 2-1 in the match, Keene State improved their attacking percentage by more than 100 points from the third to the fourth set and led for nearly the entire time save for two one-point deficits (one of which was 1-0).  The Owls scored six of the first eight and eight of the initial 11 to take early command, but Plymouth State did rally with a 9-3 burst to take a 12-11 lead on a block from Lindsey Sanderson and Nora Ryan.  KSC immediately tallied three of their own to go back in front, where they were to stay.  Two consecutive swings by Stake and one from Kroha pushed the gap to 21-15, and later a point from Johnson made it 23-18.  PSU did score three straight looking for a comeback of their own that would have given them the trophy, but it was not to be, as a Panther attacking error brought up set point and Samuelson sent it to a fifth set with a kill.  The Owls were a runaway train from there, with Wetherbee, Johnson, and Samuelson each getting early kills to set the tone, and KSC led throughout.

Standout junior setter Kacie Blanchet was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player, joining Sarah Peterson of the 2008 team to win that honor.  She had 41 assists, 12 digs, and three aces today, surpassing the 2,000 career assist mark.  In two tournament matches, Blanchet totaled 79 assists and 25 digs.  She has 2,007 assists over her three seasons (one of which was shortened to only five matches) and is currently sixth on the all-time KSC career list.

Johnson finished with 14 kills for the Owls, while Kroha had 10 kills and hit .233.  Samuelson had 10 spikes (.207 pct.), while Fleming had 24 digs.

Beyond McNeely, Plymouth was paced by 15 kills from Ryan (.125 pct.) and 11 from Sanderson (.267 pct.).  2021 LEC Rookie of the Year Lilli Stogner was limited to six spikes and -.029 hitting.  Makayla Marucci had 30 digs.

Service Aces

• Keene State's 2008 LEC championship-winning team now has company.  That year on their home court, they took out the University of Massachusetts-Boston, also needing five sets, with the decider needing extra points (17-15)…after KSC erased a 7-1 deficit.  The Owls went 29-9 that season, with Sarah Peterson being named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player and Brittany O'Bryant now in the Keene State Hall of Fame.
• KSC has won seven of their last nine against Plymouth, but had lost in their last two visits to Foley Gymnasium.  The Owls are also now 6-2 vs. PSU in the playoffs.  In the regular season meeting this year, the Owls' 3-0 win saw them outhit the Panthers .223 to .071.  Johnson (9), Stephanie Olah (8), Wetherbee (7), and Samuelson (7) combined for 31 kills that night.
• The championship adds to a fulfilling 18th season in Keene for Weiner, who won his 600th career game just three weeks ago.
• KSC was making their ninth appearance in the LEC title match, the second most in the league (behind UMass-Boston's 10) since 2005.

Up Next

• Keene State receives the Little East Conference's automatic bid into the NCAA Division III women's volleyball tournament, with the selection show to take place on ncaa.com at 1:00 p.m. on Monday, November 7.  The format sees eight regional sites across the country with eight teams at each.  The first round begins on Friday, November 11.  Stay tuned to keeneowls.com and our social media channels for updates and more information.
• Plymouth State's season is over.  They were making their eighth appearance in the final, having won in 2004.  They had lost just one other match at home this season before today.