EASTON, Mass. (10/1/22) - The Franklin Pierce University volleyball team found their way back to the win column on Saturday afternoon, defeating Stonehill College in a non-conference matchup by a four-set score of 3-1.

The Ravens improve to 6-7 on the season with the win as Stonehill continues to slide at 1-14 overall with the loss.

After falling to the Skyhawks in the first set 25-18, the Ravens bounced back in the second with a 5-0 run off consecutive attack errors by Stonehill. In the second set alone, the Skyhawks fell victim to 17 total errors, with four of the Ravens' eight remaining points belonging to senior Tessa Brandt (Foster, R.I.) with a kill and service ace, and sophomore Hannah Hillis (San Clemente, Calif.) who collected two kills. As a result, Franklin Pierce tied the match score 1-1 with a 25-20 victory in the second set.

Early on in the third frame, the Ravens stormed from down 9-5 with a 12-1 scoring run over the Skyhawks to establish a new 13-10 lead. In addition to another 11 errors by Stonehill, Tessa Brandt continued to fuel the offense for the Ravens with three kills and three service aces in the third. With a 24-19 set point eventually in hand, junior libero Morgan Schmutzler (Lockport, Ill.) kept the trend going with her first service ace of the afternoon to grant the Ravens a 2-1 advantage.

The end of the third sparked the Ravens and they took control late in the fourth.  With a shallow 14-12 lead over Stonehill, the birds boosted the lead to 21-14 with seven points on the next nine plays. Over the next four scoring plays for the Ravens, freshman Annaka Lindstrom (Dudley, Mass.) chalked up a service ace as well as an assist on a kill from Brandt, who then added the finishing touches on match point with another kill for the 25-19 set win.

As a team, the Ravens hit at .202 through the game with Tessa Brandt leading the way with 11 total kills, as well as a match-high five service aces. In assists, Annaka Lindstrom led the way with 27 total, while Morgan Schmutzler recorded 17 digs, and Freshman Martina Spackova (Bratislava, Slovakia) added five kills, and eight blocks at the net.

The Ravens return to Northeast-10 action next weekend as they travel down to face Southern Connecticut State on Friday, October 7 at 5 p.m.