Three Ravens hit over .300

RINDGE, N.H. (November 8, 2013) – Senior outside hitter Natasha Ray (Colorado Springs, Colo.) hit a match-best .436 and put away a match-high 19 kills on Friday night to lead the way for the Franklin Pierce University volleyball team in a 3-1 victory over Le Moyne in Northeast-10 Conference play in the Fieldhouse. Junior outside hitter Stephanie Belanger hit .250 with 13 kills to lead Le Moyne in defeat.

With the win, Franklin Pierce improves to 11-7 (6-5 Northeast-10), while Le Moyne falls to 9-13 (3-7 Northeast-10). Le Moyne hit .255 on its way to a 25-22 win in the first set, but would not top .200 in any of the remaining three sets. Meanwhile, Franklin Pierce hit .400 in the second and .438 in the third while storming to wins of 25-17, 25-8 and 25-18 on the way to the win.

Ray led a potent Franklin Pierce attack with her second outing with a .400-or-better attack percentage in the last four matches, as she made only two errors to go with her 19 kills over 39 attempts. She led four Ravens who finished in double digits in kills, as sophomore outside hitter Sydni Schulz (Cypress, Texas) added 13, freshman middle Aiden Garcia (Eagle Pass, Texas) contributed 12 and junior outside hitter Catie Swiderski (Rocky Point, N.Y.) chipped in 10. Perhaps more impressively, Schulz's .286 stood as the lowest hitting percentage among the quartet, which hit a combined .361 with 54 kills and 10 errors over 122 attempts on the evening. The Ravens ran the offense through the set of senior Stephanie Svorinic (Scottsdale, Ariz.), who dished out 51 assists (12.75 per set).

It was a mixed bag from behind the service line for both teams on Friday night, as Franklin Pierce rang up eight aces, led by five from senior libero Lauren Miller (Alexandria, Ind.), who extended her own program-record career total to 169. However, the Ravens also mixed in seven service errors along the way. It was a similar story for Le Moyne, which recorded two aces, but also committed two service errors.

Miller also led the way for Franklin Pierce defensively, as she piled up 30 digs. She was joined in double digits by Svorinic and sophomore defensive specialist Sarah MacHugh (Red Hook, N.Y.), who each added 12. Neither team had much of a defensive presence up front, as Franklin Pierce recorded one block and Le Moyne notched two.

Belanger was one of only two Dolphins to top .250 in the match, as she was joined by freshman middle Allegra Lee Bell, who put down only four kills, but did not commit an error over 13 attempts to hit .308. Freshman outside hitter Natalie Casson joined Belanger in double digits with 11 kills, but hit only .152 over 46 attempts. Le Moyne ran the offense through the set of junior Megan Maisonet, who had 38 assists.

Defensively, freshman libero Annie Stoklosa led three Dolphins in double digits with 25 digs. Maisonet and sophomore outside hitter Marissa Piccinini added 13 digs apiece.

The Ravens return to the court on Saturday, Nov. 9, when they remain home to host Saint Rose in a Northeast-10 Conference contest. First serve is set for 2 p.m. at the Fieldhouse. Franklin Pierce will honor its six-player senior class prior to the start of the match.

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).