Kleinschmidt totals five blocks

BRIDGEPORT, Conn. (September 28, 2012) – Freshman outside hitter Madison Duffy (Bethel, Conn.) led the team with 10 kills on Friday night, but the Franklin Pierce University volleyball team was defeated, 3-1, on the road by Bridgeport in non-conference play at Harvey Hubbell Gymnasium. Sophomore outside hitter Biljana Savic posted a 16-kill, 14-dig double-double and hit .344 to lead the way for Bridgeport.

With the loss, Franklin Pierce falls to 7-9 (1-0 Northeast-10), while Bridgeport improves to 10-2 (2-0 East Coast). After falling 25-16 and 25-21 in the first two sets, the Ravens bounced back with a 25-14 victory in the third set. However, Bridgeport finished things off in the fourth set, 25-15.

For Franklin Pierce, Duffy was the only player to record more than five kills, though freshman middle Lina Kleinschmidt (Santa Barbara, Calif.) hit .308 over 13 attempts to finish with five kills and one error. Freshman setter Kellee Cranston (Reno, Nev.) led the team with 15 assists.

Though the Ravens were held to just 33 kills and hit .110 over the four sets, the team did rack up 16 aces on the evening, the most since recording 23 in a three-set win over Bowie State on Sept. 4, 2010. Of the 16 aces, nine were served up by junior outside hitter Natasha Ray (Colorado Springs, Colo.), which marked the second-most aces in a single match in the program's recorded history (match-by-match statistics are only available dating back through 2000). The only higher total on the books is 14 from Mandy Johnson on Oct. 3, 2002 at Rivier, leaving Ray's nine aces as the most on record against Division II competition.

Defensively, junior libero Lauren Miller (Alexandria, Ind.) led the team with 11 digs, while Ray chalked up seven. At the net, Kleinschmidt tied for the match lead with five blocks (one solo).

For Bridgeport, Savic was joined in double digits offensively by sophomore outside hitter Ying Shen, who finished with 15 kills and hit .333 over 33 attempts. Senior middle Sabrina Simas added just five kills, but was efficient in doing so, as she hit a match-best .455 (minimum 10 attempts) over 11 errorless swings. The Purple Knights ran the offense through sophomore setter Fernanda Silva, who dished out 36 assists.

Defensively, three Bridgeport players reached double digits in digs: senior libero Taylor McBeth (18), Savic (14) and Shen (12), with the latter two completing double-doubles. Up front, sophomore middle Larissa Oliveira matched Kleinschmidt with five block assists.

The Ravens return to the court on Saturday, Sept. 29, when they travel to New Haven for a Northeast-10 Conference contest. First serve is scheduled for 1 p.m. at Charger Gymnasium in West Haven, Conn. Franklin Pierce next plays at home on Saturday, Oct. 6 against Stonehill at 1 p.m. and New York Tech at 3 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' brand new online store (http://athletics.franklinpierce.edu/store).