Ray leads way with 10 kills

OLD WESTBURY, N.Y. (October 12, 2013) – Senior outside hitter Natasha Ray (Colorado Springs, Colo.) hit .304 and had a team-high 10 kills on Saturday afternoon, but the rest of the Franklin Pierce University volleyball team hit only .135 with 25 kills as the Ravens fell at New York Tech, 3-0, in non-conference play at Recreation Hall. NYIT piled up 46 kills in the three sets and committed only 10 errors to hit .414.

With the loss, Franklin Pierce falls to 5-6 (0-4 Northeast-10), while New York Tech improves to 18-1 (6-1) and has the most wins of any team in the East Region. In a rematch of one of last season's NCAA Championship East Regional quarterfinals, NYIT set the tone early on Saturday, with a 25-15 win in the first set. The Bears followed with identical, 25-21 wins in both the second and third sets to complete the sweep.

After NYIT led wire-to-wire in the first set, the Ravens had a chance to level things in the second set, where they led as late as 19-18. From there, NYIT took the next three points, behind a block and a kill by senior outside hitter Shelby Cable to take a 21-19 lead and prompt a Franklin Pierce timeout. Junior outside hitter Catie Swiderski (Rocky Point, N.Y.) put away a kill out of the timeout to cut the lead to 21-20, but then the Ravens dropped four of the next five points, including three attack errors, as NYIT took the set. The Bears then led the third set wire-to-wire to finish things off.

Behind Ray for the Ravens, only one other player with 10 or more attempts posted even a .200 attack percentage, as Swiderski hit .200 on the nose with eight kills and four errors over 20 attempts. Sophomore outside hitter Sydni Schulz (Cypress, Texas) added eight kills as well, but also committed six errors to hit .105. Both senior setter Stephanie Svorinic (Scottsdale, Ariz.) and freshman setter Kelsey Hausman (Sandy, Utah) distributed the ball offensively for the Ravens, with the former collecting 18 assists, and the latter contributing 12.

Franklin Pierce struggled to make an impact defensively, as NYIT's 46 kills left only 26 digs for the Ravens. Senior libero Lauren Miller (Alexandria, Ind.) led the way with 10 digs, but no other Raven could collect more than five. At the net, Franklin Pierce recorded four blocks, with Ray factoring in on two of them (one solo).

In contrast, the NYIT offense clicked along all afternoon, as all five players who recorded at least 10 attempts hit .250 or better, with three topping .400 and two topping .600. Even in the Bears' least efficient set – the second – they still were able to hit .308 with 12 kills. Cable led the team from a quantitative standpoint, as she put down 12 kills against only four errors over a team-high 24 attempts to hit .417. Her counterpart, fellow senior outside hitter Savannah Donarski, was even more efficient, as she turned 18 attempts into 12 kills with only one error to hit .611. Senior right side Katarina Sretnovic added eight kills without an error to hit .727 over 11 attempts. The Bears ran the offense through senior setter Marija Jovanovic, who dished out 36 assists.

Defensively, junior libero Taylor Pulley led all players with 12 digs, while Cable added eight and Jovanovic chipped in seven more. The Bears made their hay up front defensively, as they piled up 10 blocks as a team on the afternoon. Sophomore middle Kate Brock led the front line's defensive effort by figuring in on six of them (one solo).

The Ravens return to the court on Friday, Oct. 18, when they travel to Stonehill for a Northeast-10 Conference contest. First serve is scheduled for 7 p.m. at Merkert Gymnasium in Easton, Mass. 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).