ALBANY, N.Y. (October 29, 2021) – The Franklin Pierce University volleyball team defeated The College of Saint Rose, 3-2, at the Nolan Gymnasium on Friday night. The Ravens improve to 10-9 overall, and 4-4 in the Northeast-10 Conference with the win, while the Golden Knights fall to 7-16 on the season, including 1-8 in the NE10.

Junior Mariah Robles (West Covina, Calif.) led the way for the offense with a match-high 21 kills and earned a .381 hitting percentage, while junior Ingrid Lindstrom (Dudley, Mass.) followed with 14 kills of her own on a .440 clip. Sophomore Morgan Schmutzler (Lockport, Ill.) led the team in digs (15) and in aces with three, and added four assists. Senior Kennedy Garnhart (Colorado Springs, Colo.) and sophomore Maddie Ward (Wolfeboro, N.H.) aided the defense with 31 and 25 assists, respectively. Senior Cierra Dolan (Ronkonkoma, N.Y.) had a team best two blocks.

The Ravens controlled the first set, pulling ahead, 8-5, at the start. Franklin Pierce went on a 7-5 run, which included four straight points on two kills each from both Lindstrom and Brandt. With a 15-11 lead, FPU notched eight consecutive points to make it a 23-11 set. Saint Rose was able to grab one more point, but the Ravens collected the final two points of the set to win 25-12.

After Franklin Pierce grabbed an early 3-2 lead, the Golden Knights tallied a point to knot it up 3-3, before earning two more points to pull ahead 5-3 and never looked back. Saint Rose went on an 12-8 run to extend the lead to 17-11. FPU was able to get three straight points to close the gap a bit, but it was not enough, as the Golden Knights went on to win 25-19.

The third set saw Saint Rose lead early, 6-3. The two teams traded a few points and Franklin Pierce was able to bring the set to an 11-11 draw. The Ravens and Golden Knights had 10 ties in the set, including tying it up at 24 apiece. The Golden Knights wer able to notch the two necessary points they needed to earn the 26-24 victory.

Franklin Pierce came back to make it a 2-2 match, after winning the fourth set. With a 3-3 tie to begin, the Crimson and Grey collected five straight points to take an 8-3 lead. Despite five straight points for the Golden Knights late in the set, the Ravens held on to their lead. The set was 24-16, in favor of Franklin Pierce, when Saint Rose came back, notching seven consecutive points to make it a 24-23 match. FPU grabbed the final point of the set, winning 25-23.

The final set saw several ties between Franklin Pierce and Saint Rose. With the score tied up at 17-17, the Ravens earned the final two points on an attack error by Jenah Kareem of the Golden Knights and a kill by freshman Hannah Hillis (San Clemente, Calif.) to help the team to a 19-17 victory.

The Crimson and Grey hit the road to take on Le Moyne on Saturday, October 30, in Syracuse, N.Y., for a 2 p.m. matchup.