WEST HAVEN, Conn. (September 24, 2016) – The Franklin Pierce University volleyball team wrapped up their two game trip through the nutmeg state with a 3-0 (23-25, 23-25, 21-25) sweep by Northeast-10 Conference opponent University of New Haven Saturday afternoon at the Charger Gymnasium. The loss drops FPU to 5-8 overall and 1-1 in conference play while the Chargers move to 6-3 and remain undefeated in the NE-10 at 2-0.

The Crimson and Grey were outhit on the afternoon .223 to .190 and had six service errors to New Haven's two. Katie Leidhold (Acushnet, Mass.) recorded a season-best 20 kills and was all over the court especially on defense with 17 digs. Saturday's effort by Leidhold was the seventh straight game that she tallied double-digit kills and digs. The sophomore outside hitter led the Ravens with a .367 hitting percentage on the afternoon. Abigail Sonuga (Haverhill, Mass.) added seven kills and two total blocks with a .312 hitting percentage. Sonuga ranks within the top-10 in the league in hitting percentage (.307) good enough for seventh place.

In the first set New Haven led 14-8 due to an attack error by FPU. The Ravens cut the deficit to one, 14-13 by scoring five straight points using key kills from Madison Klusendorf (Santa Maria, Calif.) and Danielle Varricchio (Boynton Beach, Fla.). The Ravens could never tie the score as the Chargers kept on rolling to a 25-23 set one win.

The second set saw the Ravens jump out to their first lead in the match, 2-1 thanks to a Leidhold kill. FPU continued their attack and grew their advantage to 8-6. Four consecutive points by the Chargers with Lindsey Kim serving gave the hosts a 10-8 lead midway through the second stanza. The Ravens would regain one point leads three times throughout the remainder of the set, but it wasn't enough as New Haven headed into the third set with a 2-0 match lead.

FPU had an early 3-1 lead in set number three before the Chargers scored three straight to go up 4-3. New Haven's strong hitting contiuned as their advantage grew to four, 14-10 in the middle of the set. An UNH attack error closed the gap to three, 14-11 before the Chargers racked up eight straight points to go up 22-11, their largest lead of the match. This margin would be insurmountable for the Ravens as they were swept 3-0.

Defensive specialist Brittney Carias (Burlingame, Calif.) had 14 digs for the Ravens and four assists. Hannah Runge (Deltona, Fla.) dished out 29 dimes in the loss to go along with nine digs. Hannah St. Jean (Olympia, Wash.) hit .294 with five kills in the loss.

FPU returns to the hardwood in two weeks when they travel to Saint Anselm on October 8th for a 3:00 p.m. Northeast-10 Conference contest.

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).