RIDNGE, N.H. (November 6, 2021) – The Franklin Pierce University volleyball team took care of business on Friday afternoon, in what could prove as a pivotal match in terms of postseason qualification. At home in the Fieldhouse, it was a team effort from the Ravens, as juniors Mariah Robles (West Covina, Calif.), Ingrid Lindstrom (Dudley, Mass.), and Tessa Brandt (Foster, R.I.) combined for 24 kills to lead Franklin Pierce to a 3-0 sweep of visiting Adelphi (25-23, 25-21, 25-20).

With the Northeast-10 Conference win, Franklin Pierce improves to 11-10 (5-5 NE10), while Adelphi falls to 15-10 (4-6 NE10). The two teams are now tied for eighth and solo-10^th, respectively, with three matches left in the regular season. The top eight finishers will qualify for the NE10 Championship.

The first set opened with Franklin Pierce jumping to a 4-1 lead before Adelphi would tie the set and eventually take its only lead of the tightly-contested opening frame, 12-11. The Ravens went on an 11-4 run from there and would lead, 23-15, but an 8-1 run from Adelphi cut the gap all the way to 24-23. Fortunately for the Ravens, a kill from Brandt stemmed the tide and finished off the set. 

The second set started out similarly, with Franklin Pierce taking an early lead. This time though, Adelphi would hold an advantage deep into the set. Trailing 19-17, the Ravens scored six straight points to take a 23-19 lead on the way to the 25-21 set win.

The Ravens opened up another quick lead to start the third set, and continued on their way from there. An early 6-1 lead was converted into a 25-20 set victory, and Franklin Pierce closed things out on a kill by senior Cierra Dolan (Ronkonkoma, N.Y.) and an ace from Brandt.

Robles (10 kills) was the only Raven in double digits offensively, and hit a team-best .333 over 24 attacks, while Lindstrom and Brandt added seven kills apiece. The trio worked off the dual set of senior Kennedy Garnhart (Colorado Springs, Colo.), who had 14 assists, and sophomore Maddie Ward (Wolfeboro, N.H.), who had 11. Defensively, both sophomore Morgan Schmutzler (Lockport, Ill.) and Brandt were in double digits, with 14 and 10 digs, respectively.

For Adelphi, junior Katie Schloss led the way with a match-best 11 kills, though she hit just .182 over 33 attempts. The Panthers ran the offense through freshman Kambel Fiser, who dished out 22 assists. On the other side of the ball, Fiser led the team with 15 digs to complete her double-double, while senior Jamie Yonker added 13 of her own.

The Ravens are right back in action on Saturday, as they host Pace at 1 p.m.