PLEASANTVILLE, N.Y. (October 20, 2017) – Sophomore outside hitter Danielle Varricchio (Boynton Beach, Fla.) tallied a team-high nine kills and added nine digs as the Franklin Pierce University volleyball team suffered a 3-0 (16-25, 15-25, 16-25) loss to Northeast-10 Conference opponent Pace University Friday night at the Goldstein Fitness Center. The Setters move to 10-13, 4-4 NE10 with the win while the Ravens slide to 3-5 in league play.

Senior middle blocker Hannah St. Jean (Olympia, Wash.) added five kills along with a squad-best two blocks while sophomore libero Jocelyn Moody (Biddeford, Maine) led all Ravens with 13 digs and senior setter Hannah Runge (Deltona, Fla.) handed out 12 assists in the setback. For the hosts, Sydney Lecker racked up a game-best 11 kills and Claudia Fontanet poured in eight kills and a match-high 15 digs. The Setters out-blocked the Crimson and Grey 12-to-5 in the duel.

A Lecker attack error gave the Ravens the 1-0 lead in the early going of the first set. Pace would record four straight points as Elien Peeters bookended the mini-run with a kill to push her squad ahead 4-1. A team block of a Natalia Quinones by junior outside hitter Brittney Carias (Burlingame, Calif.) and St. Jean cut the Ravens deficit to one, 4-3. The Setters outscored the Ravens 8-3 over the next few possessions as three straight kills by Lecker and Maria Snelling forced the Crimson and Grey into a timeout. After the stoppage, FPU closed the gap to four points, 14-10 as St. Jean stuffed Peeters at the net. Four in a row by the hosts upped their lead to 20-11, their largest of the first set. A blocking error by the Ravens clinched the first set for the Setters as they won 25-16.

Pierce began the second set by jumping ahead 8-4 as Abigail Garnhart (Colorado Springs, Colo.) killed off an assist by Runge. Four straight by the Setters tied the set at eight all following a Raven miscue. The Setters run of points continued after an Ofeira Petaia (Honolulu, Hawaii) kill as the hosts manufactured 10 straight points to lead 18-9 following a bad set by the Ravens. Carias cut the deficit to seven, 21-14 with a kill, but the Setters closed out the set on a 4-1 mini-run to win 25-15.

The third set had the Ravens ahead 3-2 and 5-4 as they held the small edge because of attack errors. The Setters poured on five consecutive markers to lead 9-5 before Varricchio halted the run with a kill of her own. Pace would notch the next five points as their advantage build to 14-6. Down by eight, the Ravens scored two straight to bring the Setters lead to 17-11. A Fontanet ace upped the Setters lead to 22-13 as they won the set 25-15 on a Kathleen Benson kill.

The Ravens remain in New York tomorrow for a 1:00 p.m. NE10 duel with Adelphi University.

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).