RINDGE, N.H. (10/22/22) – After a convincing opening set, the Ravens' volleyball squad fell victim to a late momentum shift in favor of the University of New Haven as they fell to the Chargers 3-1 at the Fieldhouse on Saturday evening.

The loss bumps the Ravens to a 7-10 (2-5 NE10) overall record, as the Chargers push on with a 13-9 (4-3) mark after the road win.

Franklin Pierce jumped out to an early 5-2 lead in the first frame, following a series of three straight errors by the Chargers. From there the Ravens never looked back, eventually putting up five unanswered points from a 12-7 score to expand their lead to 17-8, which included a kill from freshman Martina Spackova (Bratislava, Slovakia), a service ace from junior libero Morgan Schmutzler (Lockport, Ill.) and another trio of errors by New Haven. The Chargers used two separate 4-0 runs to try and narrow the gap, but the Raven lead would hold through the end of the opening action to a 25-20 set victory. In the opening frame, five different Ravens collected at least two kills.

With the Ravens holding momentum from its first-set victory, New Haven began their campaign to try and flip the script on the Birds as both teams came out firing to begin the second frame. Late in the action, the Chargers connected for four unanswered point to jump to a hazardous 21-15 lead, forcing a Raven timeout. From the pause, New Haven would secure four more points on the next six plays, knotting the match up at 1-1 with a 25-18 set win.

It looked as though New Haven would cruise to an easy win in the third set after opening with an 8-2 run, but looks were deceiving for a time as the Ravens clawed their way back late in the action with an 8-2 run of their own. Senior Mariah Robles (West Covina, Calif.) helped the Raven pushback with five kills through the third frame, including Pierce's final kill that brought the score within two at set point for New Haven (24-22). Despite the effort, the Chargers were able to find the final point, and took a 2-1 match lead with a 25-22 third set victory.

Energized from its third-set triumph, New Haven returned for another lopsided run to open the fourth set, quickly rushing to an 11-1 advantage. The overwhelming difference limited the Ravens to only a pair of 3-0 runs, as the Chargers kept pressure applied throughout the final frame, eventually closing out the match with a decisive 25-15 set final.

Mariah Robles finished the evening with her third double-double performance of the season, registering a total 12 kills and 15 digs, as well as three block assists at the net. Freshman Martina Spackova and senior Ingrid Lindstrom (Dudley, Mass.) each finished the night with eight kills while libero Morgan Schmutzler tied for the match lead with 32 total digs.

Volleyball hits the road for three straight matchups beginning on Tuesday, October 25^th when they will head down to Springfield, Massachusetts to take on American International at 7 p.m.