Catie Swiderski with team-high 17 kills

GARDEN CITY, N.Y. (November 1, 2013) – The Franklin Pierce University volleyball team had its four-game winning streak snapped Friday night in a 3-1 (23-25, 33-35, 25-22, 18-25) setback to Adelphi in Garden City, N.Y. The Ravens fell to 9-7 overall and 4-5 in the Northeast-10, while the Panthers improved to 16-8 and 8-1 in league play.

Kaitlyn DeStefano led a trio of Panthers who logged double-figures in kills, as she recorded 21 on a .576 hitting percentage. Shelby Stoner followed with 13 and Haley Blunt added 10 in the win. Blunt made it a double-double as she also had 14 digs.

Four Ravens logged double-digits in kills, as junior Catie Swiderski (Rocky Point, N.Y.) had a team-high 17. Senior Natasha Ray (Colorado Springs, Colo.) notched a double-double with 12 kills and 20 digs, while Sydni Schulz (Cypress, Texas) and Aiden Garcia (Eagle Pass, Texas) had 16 and 13 kills, respectively. Senior Stephanie Svorinic (Scottsdale, Ariz.) had 50 assists and 11 digs for a double-double as well for Franklin Pierce.

Swiderski smashed three kills late in the first set to spark a 4-0 run by the Ravens to take a 22-21 lead. However, the momentum was short-lived as Adelphi countered by scoring four of the final five points to pick up the 25-23 triumph and a 1-0 lead in the match.

The final stretch of the first set proved to be a sign of things to come on the night as the Ravens stayed close with the Panthers, but could not quite get over the hump.

The second set proved to be just as competitive, but once again Adelphi made the plays late to win 35-33 for a commanding 2-0 advantage. The lead changed hands nine times during the set, including back-to-back points by the Panthers to take a slim 30-29 lead. The Ravens were able to knot the score four more times after that point, but could not retake the lead. Schulz struck a kill to knot it at 33-33, but DeStefano countered with a kill, and a Franklin Pierce attack error on the next play enabled the Panthers to nab the win.

Franklin Pierce didn’t fold and fought back with a 25-22 victory in set three. The Ravens raced out to an 18-11 lead thanks to a pair of kills each from Swiderski and Ray. However, things got interesting as Adelphi mounted an 11-4 surge to pull within one at 23-22 minutes later. Franklin Pierce, though, settled and kills from Ray and Schulz extended the match and the Ravens’ hopes.

However, Adelphi scored eight of the first 12 points in the fourth set and kept its lead around that margin the rest of the way in picking up the 25-18 win and the 3-1 match victory.

Franklin Pierce returns to action Saturday when the Ravens take on Pace at 1 p.m. in New York.

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(.)