NEW HAVEN, Conn. (November 4, 2017) – Gabriela Vazquez tallied a match-high 15 kills and a .419 hitting percentage as the Southern Connecticut State University volleyball team upended the Franklin Pierce University squad 3-0 (18-25, 16-25, 16-25) Saturday afternoon at the Pelz Gym. With the victory, the Owls glide to 20-8 overall and 7-5 NE10 while the Ravens drop to 7-16, 5-7 NE10 in the setback.

Vazquez also racked up 11 digs for the Owls. Joining her in double-digit kills was Leanna Jadus who recorded 12 kills with 10 digs on the defensive end. Alexandria Jurgens handed out a game-best 24 assists and Alexandra Nimz dished off 16 helpers. The hosts outhit (.257-.000), outblocked (8-to-3) and totaled more assists (40-to-20) than the guest Ravens.

Sophomore outside hitter Danielle Varricchio (Boynton Beach, Fla.) led FPU with a seven kill seven dig effort. Fellow outside hitter, freshman Ofeira Petaia (Honolulu, Hawaii) produced six kills, a team-best 14 digs and one assist.

Franklin Pierce scored the first point of the match when senior middle blocker Hannah St. Jean (Olympia, Wash.) stuffed SCSU's Alyssa Gage at the net. The Owls would take a 4-2 lead following a Gage kill. Two straight by the Ravens would tie the set at four all, as this would be the last time during the first set that the Crimson and Grey were tied with their foes. Southern Connecticut notched the next four points via three Raven miscues and a Jadus kill to double up FPU 8-4. A Brittney Carias (Burlingame, Calif.) kill put the Ravens within three, 15-12 midway through the set, but four consecutive points by the Owls upped their lead to 19-12. Varricchio brought the deficit down to four using a kill from Hannah Runge (Deltona, Fla.) SCSU outscored the Ravens 5-2 over the remainder of the set to take a 25-18 win.

Like the first set, FPU jumped ahead early 1-0 on the strength of a Petaia kill. Six in a row by the hosts moved them in front 6-1, which led to a Ravens timeout. After the stoppage, FPU notched a 4-1 mini-run to come within two, 7-5 using the connection of Runge and Varricchio to make it a two-possession set. The Owls induced a sideout and racked up a 7-1 binge to increase their edge to 14-6. Jourdan Hodge put her squad ahead by a set-high 11 points at 18-7. Later in the set, the Ravens cut their deficit to seven thanks to a Runge ace, but the Owls closed out the second set for a 25-16 win.

Southern Connecticut began the third set scoring the opening five points with two coming off kills and three by Raven errors. An Owls attack error by Hodge put the Ravens within two at 10-8. However, the hosts responded with a plethora of points that moved them back in the lead 18-9. Back to back attack errors by the Owls dropped their lead to six, but they responded by connecting on four consecutive markers to put their team on a brink of a sweep. The closest the Ravens would come was seven points at 23-16 as the Owls concluded the match with the final two points.

The Ravens head back to Rindge for their final two regular-season contests, the first on Friday, November 10th versus Le Moyne College at 7:00 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 volleyball apparel can do so at the Department of Athletics' online store (http://athletics.franklinpierce.edu/store).