MANCHESTER, N.H. (October 8, 2016) – The Franklin Pierce University volleyball team returned to action after a two week break and tied up a two set deficit only to fall in the fifth stanza to Northeast-10 Conference opponent Saint Anselm 3-2 (17-25, 18-25, 25-23, 12-15) Saturday afternoon at the Stoutenburgh Gym. With the victory, the Hawks soar to 14-1 and remain undefeated (5-0) in conference play while the Ravens drop to 5-9 and 1-2 NE-10.

The Ravens net presence was a force throughout the match as they compiled 20 total blocks to the hosts 10. The Crimson and Grey also outhit their counterparts .158 to .112.

Katie Leidhold (Acushnet, Mass.) racked up a game-high 17 kills and 18 digs in the loss. Danielle Varricchio (Boynton Beach, Fla.) added seven kills, seven digs and a team-best four service aces. Abigail Sonuga (Haverhill, Mass.) chipped in six kills and a matched a career-high with eight total blocks.

After dropping the first two sets, FPU responded by winning the third and fourth sets. Katy Teets put the Hawks up 17-9 with a kill set up by Jewel Hays which was Saint A's biggest lead in the third set. The squads swapped points as the Hawks were ahead 18-12. Three consecutive points by the guests made it 18-15 as the Crimson and Grey closed the gap. Another kill from Teets caused a Ravens timeout which seemed to inspire the team's confidence.

Three straight points by the Ravens, two which came on attack errors forced the hosts burn a timeout hoping to stop the Ravens momentum. The opposite occurred as FPU rattled off three in a row to take a 23-21 lead thanks to a Leidhold kill set up by Kelsey Hausman (Sandy, Utah).

The Hawks knotted the set up at 23 all before Leidhold put the set away using a kill and a service ace.

In the fourth set, the Crimson and Grey trailed only once and started off the set in impressive fashion with two straight service aces from Varricchio. The Hawks cut their deficit down to 18-15 before FPU went on a 7-0 scoring binge to close out the set 25-15 and tied the match at 2-2.

The Ravens trailed early on in the fifth and deciding set by a 5-1 score before knotting up the set at 9-9 which required Anselm to use a timeout. Saint A's regained the lead 10-9 on a Madison Sollows kill and a Teets attack error deadlocked the score at 10 apiece.

Mini runs ensued as the Hawks scored three straight and the Ravens responded with two consecutive points to make it a 13-12 contest. Saint Anselm ended the match with two straight points of their own to take the set 15-12 and the match 3-2.

Brittney Carias (Burlingame, Calif.) played all over the floor as she accumulated a team-high 24 digs. Kelsey Hausman got the start at setter and handed out 35 assists along with one service ace, nine digs and two total blocks. Hannah St. Jean (Olympia, Wash.) had seven kills, four total blocks and two service aces in the setback.

The Ravens return to the Fieldhouse on Friday, October 14th as they wrap up non-conference action against Daemen at 5:00 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 cross country apparel can do so at the Department of Athletics' online store (http://athletics.franklinpierce.edu/store).