RINDGE, N.H. (11/4/22) – The Franklin Pierce University volleyball team cruised to a 3-1 triumph over NE10 opponent College of Saint Rose on Friday evening, wasting no time early on in the fourth set with an offensive outburst to power their way to the home victory at The Fieldhouse.

With the win, the Ravens improve to 9-12 (4-7 NE10) overall and remain in the playoff hunt, currently as the ninth seed in the conference standings. Saint Rose, with the loss, dips to 13-14 (4-7 NE10) overall and sits as the eighth seed in the NE10.

The Ravens took the first set in a dominant 25-16 victory, pulling away from the Golden Knights with a 7-1 scoring run midway through the frame. From a 19-15 score, kills from seniors Tessa Brandt (Foster, R.I.) and Mariah Robles (West Covina, Calif.), as well as first year Martina Spackova (Bratislava, Slovakia) helped bring the Raven advantage up to set point at 24-19. The Ravens would end things in the first set off a Golden Knight attack error, claiming the 1-0 match lead.

In the second set, it was Saint Rose who found their way ahead midway through, working off an 8-2 run to jump ahead to a 19-12 lead. In an effort to spark a response, senior Ingrid Lindstrom (Dudley, Mass.) found the floor twice on back-to-back kills, followed by a service ace from Mariah Robles. The brief stream of points for the Ravens seemed to instill some urgency into the Saint Rose game, as the Golden Knights suddenly found themselves in trouble with six errors through the late stages of the set, forcing a timeout at a 24-23 set-point score. However, out of the break, the Knights would secure the final point to tie the match up at 1-all.

As was the case in the first two sets, the two teams kept things close on the scoreboard early on in the third set. After eventually falling behind 9-6, the Ravens quickly turned the tides on the Golden Knights with a 9-2 run, establishing a 15-11 lead to force a Saint Rose timeout. Despite a brief 5-2 pullback by the Knights, the Ravens continued to remain one step ahead off of a kills from Tessa Brandt and sophomore Hannah Hillis (San Clemente, Calif.), who also contributed a service ace. From a 22-19 score, the Ravens officially tuned out Saint Rose with a 3-0 run, ending things on consecutive Tessa Brandt service aces, 25-19.

With momentum carrying over from their third set win, the Ravens were visibly fired up in the early goings and quickly went to work with an 8-0 lead over the Golden Knights, featuring a pair of kills each from Martina Spackova and Hannah Hillis. Saint Rose eventually found their rhythm, but struggled to narrow their deficit to a manageable amount as the Ravens seized the chances and took the match 3-1 by a 25-19 set final.

Two players for Pierce collected double doubles on the night, as the Ravens were led offensively by seniors Mariah Robles (14 kills, 10 digs) and Tessa Brandt (11 kills, 10 digs). Ingrid Lindstrom also hit the double-digit mark in kills through the evening, finishing with 10 total. Additionally, freshman Annaka Lindstrom (Dudley, Mass.) chalked up 41 total assists for the second straight match, while junior libero Morgan Schmutzler (Lockport, Ill.) recorded 28 digs in the effort.

With one final matchup remaining on the regular season, the Ravens will turn right around for a 1 p.m. Senior Day matchup versus Le Moyne College on Saturday, November 4^th.