RINDGE, N.H. (October 14, 2017) – Franklin Pierce University volleyball middle blocker Hannah St. Jean (Olympia, Wash.) led all players with a match-best 11 kills and a .476 hitting percentage, but Northeast-10 Conference foe the University of New Haven Chargers defeated the Ravens by a 3-0 (21-25, 13-25, 21-25) score Saturday in The Fieldhouse. With the win, the Chargers move to 13-7 and remain unblemished in league play (8-0 NE10) while the Ravens drop to 2-4 in the conference.

St. Jean chipped in one assist as well as she carried the load on offense for the Crimson and Grey. Junior outside hitter Brittney Carias (Burlingame, Calif.) added seven kills and eight digs. Ofeira Petaia (Honolulu, Hawaii) and teammate Danielle Varricchio (Boynton Beach, Fla.) tallied seven kills apiece as Varricchio notched 13 digs on defense.

For the Chargers, Kristine Rios paced the balanced attack for the guests with nine kills, 20 assists, seven digs and a.348 hitting percentage. Reigning NE10 Rookie of the Week, Kali Greathead matched her teammate with nine kills while adding 10 digs.

In the first set, St. Jean gave her squad their first lead, 2-1 of the evening as she rocked a kill to the middle of the floor off a long back and forth rally. Trailing by one, Varricchio and sophomore middle blocker Abigail Garnhart (Colorado Springs, Colo.) teamed up for a dual block to tie the set at five-all. Franklin Pierce eventually trailed by one once again, but the Chargers advantage grew with four straight points to make it a 14-9 set. The Ravens rallied back to tie the set at 17 each using a Garnhart kill, a Runge service ace and a Caroline Martins attack error. Three straight markers from the guests grew their edge to three, 20-17 as the Ravens stopped play with a timeout. The teams traded possessions until back-to-back kills from Petaia brought the deficit to two, 23-21. Two Raven errors ensued as the Chargers took the first set 25-21.

Raven sophomore libero Jocelyn Moody (Biddeford, Maine) began the second set by ripping an ace off the arm of Mallory Nowicki to give the Ravens the early edge. Petaia followed with her first kill of the second set to increase the lead to 2-0. An Angela Chan service error kept Pierce ahead by two until the guests rattled off nine consecutive points to lead 10-3. During the middle portion of the set, New Haven built their advantage to a set-best 11 at 20-9 as Greathead poured in a kill. St. Jean would cut the deficit to single figures at 22-13, but UNH tallied three straight to conclude the set.

New Haven began the third set as the Ravens started second with an ace. A Rios miscue gave the Ravens a 5-3 lead. Two consecutive errors by the Crimson and Grey cut their lead to one at 13-12 until the Ravens erupted for a 6-1 scoring binge as a Moody ace pushed the Ravens ahead 19-13. New Haven didn't back down and responded with an 8-2 binge of their own as Greathead manufactured three kills in a row to knot the set at 21. New Haven stole the set with the closing four points to conclude the match.

The Ravens look to end their three-game losing streak on Tuesday when they travel to NE10 opponent Saint Michael's for a 7:00 p.m. duel.  

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).