Senior tops 20 kills for third time in career

COLCHESTER, Vt. (October 8, 2013) – Taking the court for the first time in nearly a week, the Franklin Pierce University volleyball team immediately ratcheted up enough drama for two matches on Tuesday night at Ross Sports Center, but ultimately found itself on the short end of a 3-2 grand adventure at the hands of Northeast-10 Conference foe Saint Michael's, which thrice rallied from the verge of defeat. Senior outside hitter Natasha Ray (Colorado Springs, Colo.) had the night of her career, as she hammered out a career-best 28 kills and hit .311 with just five errors over a mind-boggling, career-high 74 attempts. Sophomore outside hitter Kelsey Flaherty answered with 19 kills for Saint Michael's, hit .271 over 59 attempts, and notched kills on three of the match's final four points.

With the loss, Franklin Pierce falls to 5-4 (0-4 Northeast-10), while Saint Michael's improves to 8-5 (1-3 Northeast-10). Saint Michael's took the first set, 25-23, before Franklin Pierce answered with a 25-16 win in the second set and a 25-21 triumph in the third. The Ravens had as much as a seven-point lead in the fourth set, before Saint Michael's rallied for a 25-23 win, and then fought off a pair of match points before taking the fifth set, 16-14.

Leading two-sets-to-one and holding a slim, 13-12 lead in the fourth set, Franklin Pierce went on a surge which nearly put away the match. The Ravens ran off the next six points, including a pair of kills by freshman middle Aiden Garcia (Eagle Pass, Texas), to take a 19-12 lead on a service ace by Ray. However, Saint Michael's refused to go quietly. The Purple Knights answered with five straight points – including two kills by senior middle Lindsay Phenix – and took 11 of the next 14 points to take a 23-22 lead on a kill by sophomore middle Candace Washington. After the two teams traded errors, Saint Michael's forced a decisive fifth set with a kill from Flaherty.

In the fifth set, Franklin Pierce put away each of its first five swings, including four kills from Ray, as part of a set-opening, 7-2 run, which placed Saint Michael's behind the proverbial eight ball a second time. Once again, the Purple Knights refused to let the Ravens run away and hide, as they ripped off the next four points to close within 7-6 and force a Franklin Pierce timeout. After back-to-back points gave the Ravens a 9-6 lead, Saint Michael's would stay within two points the rest of the way.

At 14-12, Saint Michael's faced a pair of match points against, but Flaherty put away back-to-back kills to tie the set at 14-14, prompting Franklin Pierce to burn its final timeout, as the match slipped out of its grasp for the third time. Out of the timeout, an attack error gave Saint Michael's the only match point it would need; Flaherty capped the comeback with her 19th kill of the night to give the Purple Knights their victory.

In a box score which resembled a keno card as much as anything else, the two teams combined for 132 kills, 121 assists, 18 aces, 17 service errors and 209 digs on Tuesday night. Despite the long night, both offenses stayed efficient, as each team hit under .200 in only one of the five sets. The teams combined to hit .239 in the match, with Saint Michael's holding a .244-to-.234 advantage. Franklin Pierce led in nearly every meaningful statistical category, and the difference was negligible in those where it trailed. The Ravens piled up a staggering, 89-68 advantage in points (kills+aces+blocks) – an advantage which was not undone statistically by errors – but could not create points in the appropriate combinations it needed to come away with the victory.

Ray nearly bludgeoned Saint Michael's into submission on her own, as she topped 20 kills for the third time in her career. She became only the fourth player in program history to top 25 kills in a match, and the first since Christina Collett tallied 29 against Saint Anselm on Oct. 18, 2003. Ray is the first Raven to put down 25 or more kills since the NCAA shortened the first four sets from 30 points to 25.

Ray was not the only one with a memorable night, as senior setter Stephanie Svorinic (Scottsdale, Ariz.) dished out 59 assists, which was the seventh outing of 55-or-more assists in program history. She became just the third different Raven to top 55 assists in a match and her 59 helpers was the most since Karissa Hookstadt '09 had 59 at Massachusetts Lowell on Oct. 3, 2006. In the back row, senior libero Lauren Miller (Alexandria, Ind.) matched her career high with 32 digs. Miller also served up five aces to push her career total to 157, one behind the program record held by Mandy Johnson.

Ray led three Ravens in double digits offensively, as sophomore outside hitter Sydni Schulz (Cypress, Texas) added a career-high 17 kills and hit .241 over 54 attempts, while Garcia put away 14 kills and hit .281 over 32 attempts. Defensively, Schulz added 25 digs, while sophomore defensive specialist Sarah MacHugh (Red Hook, N.Y.) and Ray were each in double digits as well, with 17 and 14 digs, respectively. At the net, Garcia and Schulz figured in on three blocks each (one solo for Schulz).

Flaherty stole the show for Saint Michael's offensively, particularly down the stretch, but Washington was impressive as well, as she added 11 kills over 19 error-free attempts to hit .579. Phenix rounded out a trio of Purple Knights in double digits with 12 kills and a .290 attack percentage over 31 attempts. Saint Michael's ran the offense through senior setter Jess McLeod, who racked up 50 assists. The Purple Knights made only 14 attack errors on the night, fewer than three per set, which allowed them to make up for their inability to match Franklin Pierce in the service game, as Saint Michael's managed only four aces.

Defensively, freshman libero Natalie Moore did her part to keep Franklin Pierce from running away with things, as she chalked up 42 digs, more than any two of her teammates combined. It is unknown where the outing ranks in Saint Michael's program history, but for perspective, 42 digs would be a single-match record in Franklin Pierce annals. She was joined by four other Purple Knights in double digits defensively: McLeod (15 digs), freshman defensive specialist Natalia Maccarrone (13), Flaherty (10) and junior defensive specialist Hillary Miller (10). Saint Michael's recorded only two blocks in the match, but Phenix was a part of both (one solo).

The Ravens return to the court on Friday, Oct. 11, when they travel to LIU Post for a non-conference contest. First serve is scheduled for noon at Pratt Recreation Center in Brookville, N.Y. Franklin Pierce next plays at home on Tuesday, Oct. 22 against Merrimack at 7 p.m.

For more information on Franklin Pierce Athletics, please visit the official website of Franklin Pierce Athletics (http://athletics.franklinpierce.edu). Also be sure to follow the Ravens through the Department of Athletics' official Facebook page (http://www.facebook.com/FranklinPierceRavens), its YouTube channel (http://www.youtube.com/franklinpiercesports) and its Twitter feed (http://twitter.com/FPUathletics). Fans wishing to purchase Franklin Pierce volleyball apparel can do so at the Department of Athletics' online store (http://athletics.franklinpierce.edu/store).