Jackson posts 15-kill, eight-block night

MANCHESTER, N.H. (October 2, 2012) – Junior libero Lauren Miller (Alexandria, Ind.) and junior outside hitter Natasha Ray (Colorado Springs, Colo.) tallied 32 and 28 digs, respectively, to key an intrepid defensive effort on Tuesday night, as the Franklin Pierce University volleyball team rallied from a 2-0 deficit to pick up a 3-2 road win over Southern New Hampshire in Northeast-10 Conference play at SNHU Fieldhouse. Junior middle Katie Jackson (Centennial, Colo.) had 15 kills and hit .433 to lead the Franklin Pierce offense.

With the win, Franklin Pierce improves to 8-10 (2-1 Northeast-10), while SNHU falls to 9-5 (1-1 Northeast-10). After losing the first two sets, 25-20 and 25-22, Franklin Pierce roared back to take the next three and the match, 25-19, 25-15 and 15-6.

Already trailing two sets to none, the Ravens found themselves locked at 7-7 with SNHU in the third set, still struggling to get things going. Then, Ray put away a kill and Franklin Pierce ran off seven of the next eight points, including another kill from Ray, one from Jackson and a pair of blocks, both of which Ray figured in on. The spurt forced a SNHU timeout and the Penmen would rally with three straight points out of the timeout, but it was as if a switch had been flicked for the Ravens. SNHU would win consecutive points only once more the rest of the set, and Ray and Jackson combined for five more kills over the balance of the third. The Ravens picked up the 25-19 win and then blew the doors off the Penmen in the final two sets to complete the comeback.

The story of the night was the defense for Franklin Pierce, which recorded 112 digs and 15 blocks, to hold SNHU to an .081 attack percentage, despite the fact that the Penmen racked up 54 kills on the night. For the Ravens, it was the first time the team had reached triple digits in digs since recording 100 at Saint Anselm on Oct. 6, 2010, and the most blocks since notching 19 against Michigan Tech on Sept. 2, 2011. Two SNHU players with 10 or more attempts were forced into negative hitting percentages, while no Penman with 10 or more attempts hit .200 or better.

Miller's 32 digs marked the first time she topped 30 digs in her career, and led five Ravens in double digits defensively. Ray added her 28, junior setter Stephanie Svorinic (Scottsdale, Ariz.) picked up 14, freshman defensive specialist Sarah MacHugh (Red Hook, N.Y.) contributed 12 and freshman Catherine Purdy (Ossining, N.Y.) tallied 10. At the net, Jackson and freshman outside hitter Madison Duffy (Bethel, Conn.) were the biggest pests, picking up eight and seven block assists, respectively, while freshman middle Lina Kleinschmidt (Santa Barbara, Calif.) added six blocks (one solo).

Offensively for Franklin Pierce, Jackson had by far the best night, though she was joined in double digits by Ray (12 kills), and sophomore outside hitter Catie Swiderski (Rocky Point, N.Y.) added eight more. The trio, and the rest of the Raven offense, worked off the set of Svorinic, who dished out 34 assists. Both Svorinic and Ray finished the night with double-doubles.

For SNHU, freshman middle Emma Houlihan led the offense with 15 kills, but hit just .190 over 42 attempts while doing it, thanks to seven errors. She was joined in double digits by senior outside hitter Erica Solomon, who added 10 kills, but hit -.034 over 59 swings. Junior right side Ashlee Daoust chipped in another nine kills. The Penmen ran the offense off the set of freshman Catherine Cotton, who rang up a match-best 42 assists.

Defensively, SNHU finished with five people in double digits in digs as well, led by 31 from sophomore libero Kendra Mikuta. She was joined in double figures by Solomon (23), freshman outside hitter Maeghan Higgins (17), Daoust (15) and Cotton (10), with Cotton and Solomon both posting double-doubles. SNHU did not have nearly the presence Franklin Pierce did at the net, as the Penmen recorded just two blocks, with no player factoring on more than one.

The Ravens return to the court on Saturday, Oct. 6, when they return home for a pair of matches. Franklin Pierce will face Stonehill in a Northeast-10 Conference match at 1 p.m. and New York Tech in a non-conference tilt at 3 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). 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).