NEWARK, Del. - (September 8, 2018) – The Franklin Pierce University volleyball program ended the 2018 Wildcat Regional Invitational with two losses Saturday afternoon, a 3-0 (20-25, 11-25, 15-25) defeat at the hands of Holy Family University and a 3-1 (18-25, 25-23, 18-25, 17-25) loss to host Wilmington (Del.) University. Both setbacks send the Ravens to 3-10 on the campaign.

Freshman outside hitter Cierra Dolan (Ronkonkoma, N.Y.) was selected to the All-Tournament team after leading the Ravens in kills (34) on the weekend. She also tallied eight digs and five blocks. Junior middle blocker Abigail Garnhart (Colorado Springs, Colo.) tied with Dolan for the team lead in kills 34. Garnhart hit .202 on the weekend and chipped in seven total blocks, six digs, and one assist. Junior defensive specialist Jocelyn Moody (Biddeford, Maine) totaled 28 kills, 38 digs, a team-high four aces, two assists, and one block. Marisa Lamb (Phoenix, Ariz.) and Brittney Carias (Burlingame, Calif.) were stalwarts on the defensive end ranking first and second in digs. Carias needs only 42 more digs to become the seventh member in program history to achieve 1,000 career digs.

Game One: Tigers 3, Ravens 0 (20-25, 11-25, 15-25)

Sarah Roach (Provo, Utah) totaled six kills for the Ravens to go along with six digs, a block, and an assist. Abigail Garnhart and Jocelyn Moody recorded four kills each with Moody contributing seven digs on the defensive end. Setter Lauren Herrera (Simi Valley, Calif.) led all Ravens with 15 assists.

For Holy Family, Chase Wassel was extremely productive with a match-best 16 kills, a .312 hitting percentage, and nine digs. Morgan Silks chipped in 31 assists and a game-high 16 digs in the victory.

The Ravens fell behind 6-0 early in the first set. FPU battled back to come within one following a Carias service ace that Wassel smoked off the ceiling and out of play. FPU hung around keeping the contest within two points 16-14 after a Herrera and Roach connection. A 5-1 Tiger scoring spurt upped their lead to 21-15. FPU cut their deficit to three after Breanna Mineweaser (Honey Brook, Pa.) and Roach clogged the middle and stuffed Gianna Pesognelli. Holy Family held the Ravens to one point over the remainder of the set to win 25-20.

Holy Family dominated the Ravens in the second set as they increased their lead from five points (11-6) to 13 points (20-7) over the course of the next 10 possessions before winning 25-11. In the third set, Roach moved the Ravens ahead 5-3 which was the Crimson and Grey's only lead of the match. Six consecutive markers by the designated home squad brought the score to 9-5. A Mary Pease (East Haddam, Conn.) ace and a Dolan kill brought the deficit to one, however, the Tigers clawed back in the lead by tacking on nine consecutive points and eventually took the match with a 25-15 third set win.

Game Two: Wildcats 3, Ravens 1 (18-25, 25-23, 18-25, 17-25)

The Ravens were led by a trio of double-digit kill athletes in the match against Wilmington (Del.). Sarah Roach tallied a team-best 13 kills and a.269 hitting percentage to go along with eight digs, one block, and one ace. Abigail Garnhart and Dolan added 12 kills apiece while Mary Pease recorded a game-best 35 assists and 15 digs.

Mandy Behiels from Wilmington had 16 kills and five digs in the victory for the hosts.

Wilmington racked up an 8-1 scoring spurt to open the showdown. The Ravens stopped play with a timeout and temporarily cooled the Wildcats momentum with an 8-1 binge of their own to push the first set to a deadlock when Moody bashed the ball into the left side of the floor. Six points in a row for the Wildcats, which included a Rebecca Rawlinson and Emma Kongevold dual block, upped the score to 17-11. A Pease ace and a Dolan kill brought the Ravens within two, but Wilmington took the opening set 25-18.

The second set was all FPU as they moved in front 9-4 via a Behiels attack error. A Carias kill gave the Ravens a nine point 15-6 cushion. The Wildcats brought their deficit all the way down to two points until a Dolan and Mineweaser stuff in the middle of the net jumped the Raven lead to three, 17-14. A bad Raven set tied the score at 20-20 late until Roach and Moody uncorked back-to-back kills to move the Ravens back in the lead 22-20. With the Ravens ahead by three, Behiels and a team block from Emma Kongevold and Rawlinson made it a one-point game. Mineweaser clinched the set for FPU as her attack attempt deflected off the hands of a Wildcat blocker.  

FPU fell behind early in the third set before rallying to bring it to a one-point deficit, 9-8 following a Pease kill. A Raven service error pushed the hosts ahead by four 19-14. Wilmington stayed in the lead for the remainder of the set and never trailed in the fourth set to fend off the Ravens.

Franklin Pierce begins Northeast-10 Conference play on Wednesday when they host Bentley University in the Fieldhouse at 7:00 p.m.

For more information on Franklin Pierce Athletics, please visit the official website of Franklin Pierce Athletics (http://fpuravens.com). 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 apparel can do so at the Department of Athletics' online store (http://fpuravens.com/store). You can also follow the volleyball program on Twitter (https://twitter.com/FPURavensVB) and Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/fpuravensvb/).