RINDGE, N.H. (September 16, 2016) – The Franklin Pierce women's volleyball team held a two set advantage over non-conference opponent the New York Institute of Technology Bears Friday evening at the Fieldhouse, but were unable to clinch a third set as they fell 3-2 (27-25, 25-15, 22-25, 23-25, 12-15) to the undefeated visitors. With the loss, the Ravens fall to 3-6 early in the year and the victory keeps the Bears mark unblemished at 10-0.

The Ravens were the far superior team throughout the match as they led NYIT in hitting percentage .227 to .134 and at the net with 25 blocks to the Bears 20. However FPU was undone by eight ball handling errors.

Katie Leidhold (Acushnet, Mass.) notched her third straight double-double with a season-high 17 kills and 16 digs. Sophomore middle hitter Abigail Sonuga (Haverhill, Mass.) continued her recent dominance recording her fourth game of a hitting percentage over .375 as she hit .500 (13-1-24) for the second time this season. Sonuga led the charge at the net with eight total blocks matching her career-best.

The Ravens trailed by seven, 23-16 in the first set after a block by Rachel Guida and Tina Stefanovic to put the Bears at the brink of a set one victory. The Crimson and Grey rallied with an 8-1 run to take a 25-24 set lead after a Leidhold kill that was set up by teammate Hannah Runge (Deltona, Fla.). The set went into extra serves until Leidhold clinched the game with two consecutive kills both from Runge to take the lead 1-0.

FPU held strong in the second set leading 20-11 thanks to a Hannah St. Jean (Olympia, Wash.) service ace which forced NYIT to take a timeout. A few serves later, Brittney Carias (Burlingame, Calif.) nailed a service ace to wrap up the set 25-15.

In set three, the Bears jumped out to an 18-12 lead after a Karolina Moderova and Guida dual block. Coach Dragan called a timeout which swung momentum towards the Ravens side. After the timeout, the Crimson and Grey closed the gap to four, 20-16 using another Leidhold kill. Sonuga used her only solo block of the contest to make it 24-21 and on the next possession, a St. Jean service ace cut the deficit to one. Stefanovic kept her squad alive in the match with a kill ending the third set at 25-22.

Throughout the fourth set both teams engaged in back and forth action until the Ravens took a miniscule 23-22 lead using a Bear ball handling error to lead the set. With Chessie Santeramo serving, NYIT scored three straight points with two coming on kills by Tiffany Vemi and double block by Stefanovic and Guida that sent the match into the final 15 point set.

The Bears grit paid off in the fifth set as they built up a 7-1 lead. NYIT's advantage stood at 11-3 before the Ravens mounted a mini comeback to cut the Bear lead to 13-12 using a Runge and Sonuga block and a Bear ball handling error to scrap back into the match. The Bears scored the next two points, took the set, 15-12 and completed the 2-0 comeback to remain undefeated on the year.

The Ravens struggled in the fifth set hitting .000 as a team compared to NYIT's .133. Brittney Carias once again led the Raven defense with a game-best 19 digs. Freshman Danielle Varricchio (Boynton Beach, Fla.) tallied a career-high six total blocks and teammate Madison Klusendorf (Santa Maria, Calif.) added 11 kills and 14 digs. Hannah Runge recorded her fourth straight game with 30+ assists as she handed out a game-high 40 dimes.

The Ravens return to The Fieldhouse tomorrow for Saturday Matinee volleyball with a 1:00 p.m. non-conference duel against LIU Post.

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 cross country apparel can do so at the Department of Athletics' online store (http://athletics.franklinpierce.edu/store).