CASTLETON, Vt. - The Vermont State Castleton Spartans fell to the Plymouth State Panthers Saturday afternoon in LEC action. The set scores were 21-25, 19-25, and 19-25.
The Spartans are 6-7 and 0-3 in LEC play after the defeat.
The Panthers held a 6-5 lead early before going on a 3-0 run. It included a service ace by Sam Ford (Fort Wayne, Ind.) and an Alondra Rojas (Thousand Oaks, Calif.) kill put them up 8-6.
Later, consecutive aces by Madison Sheehan (Queensbury, N.Y.) put the Spartans up 13-9, the largest they led in the set.
After a 17-14 Castleton lead, Plymouth State took charge and went on an 11-4 run to win the set.
Castleton started strong in the second set and was up 7-3 early in the set, which included two kills by Jocelyn Ray (Essex, Vt.) a service ace from Nicolette Vaughn (Plainfield, Ill.) and a block by Ford and Ray.
The Panthers slowly chipped away at the Spartan's lead, eventually taking it at 13-12 and did not lose it for the rest of the set, winning the set 25-19.
Plymouth State scored the first six points in the third set and dominated for most of the set. However, Castleton did not go away quietly.
When the Panthers were up 20-14, Castleton cut the deficit to just two points thanks in part to a kill from Marley Hill (Austin, Texas) and Rojas, which made the score 20-18 Plymouth State.
The Panthers then called a timeout and were able to rally to win the set and sweep the match.
Ford, Ray, and Rojas tied for the team lead in kills with seven apiece. Rojas had 16 assists while Vaughn recorded 12 digs.
Up next, the Spartans face Skidmore on the road on Tuesday. First serve is set for 6 p.m.
