Sydni Schulz with 12 kills and 10 digs on the night

RINDGE, N.H. (October 29, 2013) – A trio of Ravens logged double-digit kills, highlighted by junior Catie Swiderski’s (Rocky Point, N.Y.) match-high 14, to lead the Franklin Pierce University volleyball team to a 3-0 sweep (25-19, 25-22, 25-9) of Saint Anselm on Tuesday night at The Fieldhouse in Rindge.

The Ravens won their fourth straight to improve to 9-6 overall and 4-4 in the Northeast-10, while the Hawks dipped to 7-14 and 2-6 in league play. It also marked Franklin Pierce’s second-consecutive 3-0 sweep of an opponent, as the Ravens turned the trick against Assumption on Saturday.

Senior Natasha Ray (Colorado Springs, Colo.) and sophomore Sydni Schulz (Cypress, Texas) each added 12 kills, as the latter logged a double-double on the night with 10 digs as well. Swiderski hit at a .520 clip, while Ray was not far behind at .423.

Schulz and Ray had a big hand in the Ravens taking complete control of the match late in the second set, as their play rallied the Ravens from a 22-19 deficit by scoring the final six points of the set to win 25-22 and take a 2-0 lead. Ray sparked the surge with a kill, and Schulz added to it with a pair of kills and another point off a block assist with senior Ashley Bruce (Hampton Falls, N.H.).

The third set was all Ravens as they won by 16. Swiderski was huge in the set as she logged four-consecutive kills during a 7-0 run by the Ravens to open up a commanding 15-4 advantage. Senior Stephanie Svorinic (Scottsdale, Ariz.) assisted on all of Swiderski’s kills, and sophomore Catherine Purdy (Ossining, N.Y.) guided the momentum of the surge with steady serves into the box.

Swiderski logged another kill late in the match and Schulz served up a service ace for match point to cap the victory for the Ravens.

Svorinic had 43 assists on the night to aid in the Ravens’ offensive attack. Sophomore Sarah McHugh (Red Hook, N.Y.) added 10 digs, while senior Lauren Miller (Alexandria, Ind.) came up with 24 digs to help stem Saint Anselm’s serves.

Franklin Pierce, as a team, hit .339 for the match, while St. A’s struggled at a .123 clip, including 14 attack errors.

Kyla Gustavson had nine kills to lead Saint Anselm, while Natalie Steinwart had 25 assists.

The first set was a close one with each team exchanging the lead early on. The Ravens finally went on a mini 5-1 run to turn a slim one-point lead into a 19-14 edge. Ray, as she did most of the night, kick-started the run with a kill, while Schulz followed with two more points to aid the rally.

Saint Anselm, though, didn’t flinch and pulled to within one at 20-19. But the Ravens once again had an answer and scored the final five points, as Swiderski hammered out three kills around a service ace from Svorinic. Ray closed out the set with a smashing kill to spark the Ravens on to their three-set sweep.

Franklin Pierce returns to action Friday, when the Ravens travel to face Adelphi at 7 p.m. in New York. They will then be back in action Saturday versus Pace at 1 p.m.

For more information on Franklin Pierce volleyball, please visit the team’s page at http://athletics.franklinpierce.edu. To follow the program even further, please visit Franklin Pierce Athletics on YouTube (www.youtube.com/FranklinPierceSports), Twitter (www.twitter.com/FPUathletics) and Facebook (www.facebook.com/FranklinPierceRavens). Fans wishing to purchase Franklin Pierce volleyball apparel can do so on the athletic department’s online store at http://athletics.franklinpierce.edu/store(.)