Posted: Oct 09, 2007

Franklin Pierce Topped by Merrimack in Five Games

Buchholz sets new career high with 14 blocks; Hookstadt posts career-best 60 assists

Karissa Hookstadt dished out a career-high 60 assists to go with 14 digs to post a double-double on Tuesday at Merrimack.

NORTH ANDOVER, N.H. (October 9, 2007) – Franklin Pierce University received career-high efforts from junior co-captains Nicole Buchholz (Ashburn, Va./Stone Bridge) and Karissa Hookstadt (Camarillo, Calif./Camarillo), but the Ravens dropped a tough 3-2 (30-23, 27-30, 26-30, 30-28, 15-12) match to Merrimack College in a key Northeast-10 Conference women’s volleyball match on Tuesday evening at Volpe Gymnasium.

Buchholz led Franklin Pierce with 16 kills and a career-high 14 blocks, while Hookstadt set a new career best with 60 assists to go along with 14 digs, five blocks and four kills. The Ravens also received double-double efforts from sophomore Katie Ristow (Miami, Fla./Miami Killian Senior HS), who recorded 14 kills and 13 digs, and freshman Diana Rutt (Dayton, Nev./Dayton), who had 13 digs and 10 kills.

Sophomore Megan Feldmeth (South Pasadena, Calif./South Pasadena) led the Ravens with a .414 hitting percentage after posting 13 kills and only one error, while junior Emily Schultz (Salem, Wis./Westosha Central) tied a career high with 24 digs to lead the team.

Merrimack’s Molly Cindric (Westlake Village, Calif./Oaks Christian) led the home team with an impressive 30 kills on 73 attacks, followed by Jordan Giboney (West Linn, Ore./Wilsonville) with 11 kills and 12 digs and Ale Kuncaitis (Canton, Mass./Canton) with 10 kills and 20 digs.

After Merrimack took the first game by a 30-23 score, the Ravens took the next two games thanks to a pair of late runs. In both games two and three, Franklin Pierce reached the 27-point plateau and then took the last three points to take a 2-1 lead through three games. The visitors could not pull out the elusive third point, however, dropping a very close fourth game and narrowly falling in the decisive fifth game.

Franklin Pierce (13-12, 7-3 NE-10), which falls to fourth place in the Northeast-10 with the loss, will look to rebound on Saturday afternoon, when the Ravens take on Southern Connecticut State in New Haven, Conn., beginning at noon. Merrimack (9-9, 6-2 NE-10) travels to Southern New Hampshire on Saturday at 11 a.m. to take on the Penmen.