COLCHESTER, Vt. (November 3, 2015) – Sophomore Madison Klusendorf (Santa Maria, Calif.) stepped up big for the Franklin Pierce University Volleyball team on Tuesday night, as she slammed home 21 kills on the evening in the Ravens 3-1 win over the Saint Michael's College Purple Knights at Ross Sports Center.

With the win, the Ravens improve to 16-7 (10-1 Northeast-10) and keep pace in their quest at the top spot in the Northeast-10 Conference. The win also marks the first in Colchester in the Stephanie Dragan era of the program. With the loss, the Purple Knights fall to 11-9 (4-6 Northeast-10).

Klusendorf started her run right in set one, collecting five kills in the first frame. However, not to be outdone in that first set was freshman Katie Leidhold (Acushnet, Mass.) who collected seven kills herself to help get the Ravens started. After falling down 5-2 early, both Klusendorf and Leidhold helped get the ball rolling in the Ravens favor. Ultimately, Franklin Pierce would extend their lead out to 20-14 before a Saint Michael's timeout. After the Purple Knights crawled back in at 22-19, the Ravens shut the door at 25-20, capped by a kill from Klusendorf to give Franklin Pierce the early 1-0 lead.

The second set didn't find much success for the Ravens, as the Purple Knights hung up 25 points, keeping the Ravens at 13 points to win the set and tie the match at 1-1. Franklin Pierce aided the Saint Michael's success, committing 11 attack errors in the set.

But Franklin Pierce stepped up in both sets three and four, especially after trailing in set three as it looked they would fall behind yet again. Down 17-12, the Ravens pulled out six straight points to take an 18-17 lead. From there, both teams would go back in forth in what became possibly the most competitive set of the night, and possibly the most important. Franklin Pierce would prevail, snagging the barnburner 25-23 to go up 2-1.

Set four started similar to the others, as Saint Michael's gained the early advantage and was in hope to push the match to a fifth set. Up 13-8 halfway through the set, the Ravens stepped on the gas and caught up once again. Franklin Pierce tied things up at 15-15, and once again was a dogfight through the next few rallies. Once the Ravens secured a small 19-18 lead, they ran off five points in a row to take the 25-18 win, and 3-1 match win.

With Klusendorf setting the match tone at 21 kills, Leidhold wasn't too far behind at 18 kills. Freshman Abigail Sonuga (Haverhill, Mass.) was the one other Raven in double-figure kills with 12 on the night. However, credit goes to sophomore setter Hannah Runge (Deltona, Fla.), who ran the offense to 54 assists, once again topping the 50-plus assist mark this season.

Defensively, the Ravens were stronger in the back rather than at the net, only collecting three team blocks on the match. However, led by senior Sarah MacHugh (Red Hook, N.Y.), the Ravens collected 74 digs, a team-leading 20 of those going to MacHugh. The other double-digit digs went to the three stars of the game, in Klusendorf, Leidhold, and Runge, with all three of them collecting double-doubles. Leidhold led the trio with 13, Runge with 12, and Klusendorf with 10.

For Saint Michael's, they were led by Candace Washington with 12 kills, with both Kelsey Flaherty and Megan Priester recorded 10 kills apiece. Catie Weller passed out 46 assists, while Natalie Moore led the Purple Knights with 26 digs.

The Ravens return to action this Friday, November 6 when they return home to Rindge to play host to Bridgeport. Game time is set for 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).