Garcia, Schulz notch 16 kills each; Swiderski adds 12

PLEASANTVILLE, N.Y. (November 2, 2013) – Freshman middle Aiden Garcia (Eagle Pass, Texas) hit a season-high .600 and put down a season-best 16 kills on Saturday afternoon as the Franklin Pierce University volleyball team erased a 2-0 deficit and clawed back for a 3-2 win over Pace in Northeast-10 Conference play at Goldstein Fitness Center. Freshman outside hitter Kayla Witwer and freshman Ashley DiFulvio put away 16 kills each in a losing effort for Pace.

With the win, Franklin Pierce improves to 10-7 (5-5 Northeast-10), while Pace falls to 4-23 (0-11 Northeast-10). After hitting .095 and .138, respectively, in 25-21 and 25-16 losses in the first two sets, the Ravens roared back with a 25-12 win in the third set. The next two proved far more difficult, as the Ravens squeaked out 27-25 and 16-14 wins in the final two sets.

After getting on the board with the win in the third set, Franklin Pierce trailed by as many as seven and by five points as late as 20-15 in the fourth set. Faced with the prospect of surrendering Pace's first league win of 2013, the Ravens found their stride, piling up six kills -- three from Garcia -- and an ace in the next nine points while winning eight of the nine to jump to a 23-21 lead. Pace would tie the set at 23-23, 24-24 and 25-25, but would never reclaim the lead before Franklin Pierce finished off the 27-25 win. Though the fifth set remained close throughout, the Ravens would never trail after erasing a 2-1 deficit with four straight points.

Garcia buoyed a Franklin Pierce offense which struggled to kick into gear for much of the afternoon. The Ravens wound up hitting .180 for the day, but did post a .256 in a dominant third set, as well as .250 while finishing things out in the fifth. Garcia made only one error against her 16 kills over 25 attempts to lead the offensive charge. She was joined in double digits offensively by sophomore outside hitter Sydni Schulz (Cypress, Texas) with 16 kills and junior outside hitter Catie Swiderski (Rocky Point, N.Y.) with 12 kills. The trio, as well as the rest of the Franklin Pierce offense, worked off the set of senior Stephanie Svorinic (Scottsdale, Ariz.), who dished out 47 assists. The Ravens chalked up 10 aces on the day, led by four from senior outside hitter Natasha Ray (Colorado Springs, Colo.), but committed nine service errors and surrendered 11 aces along the way as well.

As the low hitting percentages would suggest -- Pace hit only .163 -- both teams made their hay defensively on Saturday afternoon. The Franklin Pierce defensive corps piled up 100 digs on the day, and were nearly matched by the 97 Pace found. The separation came from the front row defense, as the Ravens rang up nine blocks on the day, against just two for Pace. Garcia complemented her offensive theatrics with six block assists, while Svorinic was a part of four blocks (one solo). Senior libero Lauren Miller (Alexandria, Ind.) led the way with 31 digs. She was joined by three others in double digits: Schulz and Ray with 19 apiece, and sophomore defensive specialist Sarah MacHugh (Red Hook, N.Y.) with 11.

For Pace, Witwer was the most efficient option of the day, as she made five errors against her 16 kills over 46 attempts to hit .239. DiFulvio was a little more erratic, as she hit just .145 with eight errors over a match-high 55 attempts. While no other Pace player topped 10 kills, freshman middle Samantha Harting added nine kills and sophomore Alyssa Marchino contributed eight. The Pace offense ran through the set of freshman setter Miki Carver, who had 39 assists. As mentioned before, Pace had 11 aces on the day, led by four from sophomore libero Rebecca Italiano.

Defensively, Italiano led all players with 34 digs. She was joined in double digits by four of her teammates: Witwer (20), Carver (15), Marchino (14) and DiFulvio (12).

The Ravens return to the court on Friday, Nov. 8, when they return home to host Le Moyne in a Northeast-10 Conference contest. First serve is set for 7 p.m. at the Fieldhouse in Rindge.

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).