Miller adds 14 digs

BROOKVILLE, N.Y. (September 16, 2011) – Freshman outside hitter Catie Swiderski (Rocky Point, N.Y.) led all players with 11 kills while adding seven digs, two blocks and two aces on Friday night to lead the Franklin Pierce University volleyball team to a 3-1 win over C.W. Post in non-conference play at Pratt Recreation Center. Sophomore right side Natasha Ray (Colorado Springs, Colo.) added nine kills, 12 digs and a pair of blocks.

With the win, Franklin Pierce improves to 4-4 (0-0 Northeast-10), while C.W. Post falls to 4-5 (0-1 East Coast). C.W. Post took the first set, 25-13, before Franklin Pierce stormed back with set wins of 25-12, 25-22 and 25-19.

With the match tied 1-1 and C.W. Post sporting a 10-5 lead in the pivotal third set, Franklin Pierce staged a 13-3 run that served as the turning point of the match. The run centered around eight straight points on the serve of sophomore defensive specialist Michelle Marguette (North Kingstown, R.I.), half of which came on service aces. The spurt left the Ravens with an 18-13 lead in a set they went on to win by three points before closing out the match in the fourth set.

Behind Swiderski and Ray for Franklin Pierce, sophomore middles Ashley Bruce (Hampton Falls, N.H.) and Katie Jackson (Centennial, Colo.) both topped five kills, with seven and six, respectively. As always, the offense ran through the set of sophomore Stephanie Svorinic (Scottsdale, Ariz.), who led all players with 30 assists. Though Marguette would not serve up another ace outside of the four in her third-set run, she led all players in that category.

Defensively for the Ravens, three different players (Jackson, Ray, Swiderski) notched two blocks apiece, while sophomore libero Lauren Miller (Alexandria, Ind.) led four in double digits with 14 digs. She was joined by Ray (12 digs), Marguette (11) and Svorinic (11).

For C.W. Post, sophomore middle Shayla Hixson led the way with 10 kills, while junior middle Lisa Delfs added nine and senior middle Laura Garbarino chipped in seven. The Pioneers set up the offense through freshman setter Kaiulani Kaalekahi (19 assists) and sophomore setter Stephanie Schwarz (11). Defensively, junior libero Emily Hoehn led all players with 16 digs, while Garbarino and Hixson notched two block assists each.

The Ravens return to the court on Saturday, Sept. 17, when they travel to New York Institute of Technology for a non-conference tri-match. Franklin Pierce will square off with District of Columbia at noon before taking on host NYIT at 2 p.m. at Recreational Hall in Old Westbury, N.Y. The Ravens' first home match is scheduled for Saturday, Sept. 24 against New Haven at 1 p.m. at the Fieldhouse in Rindge.

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).