RINDGE, N.H. (11/5/22) – In their final match of the regular season, the Franklin Pierce University volleyball team celebrated Senior Day and punched their ticket to the Northeast-10 Championship Tournament following a 3-0 victory over Le Moyne College at The Fieldhouse on Saturday afternoon. The win, paired with a 3-0 loss by yesterday's opponent, the College of Saint Rose, pushed the Ravens into the final eighth-seeded position in the conference standings.

The home triumph moves the Ravens to a 10-12 (5-7 NE10) overall record, as the Dolphins' season concludes with a 7-15 (3-8 NE10) mark. For Pierce, it is their first trip to the conference postseason since the 2019 campaign.

The Ravens and the Dolphins started set one trading points, eventually playing up to a 12-12 tie. From there, the Ravens managed to pull slightly ahead off of consecutive kills from seniors Ingrid Lindstrom (Dudley, Mass.) and Britney Loyd (Coppell, Texas), forcing a Le Moyne timeout with a 15-12 lead. Out of the timeout, the Dolphins would push back and eventually reclaim the lead with a 4-0 run, but would not be successful in creating a cushion as the Ravens continued to attack. Late in the set, the Ravens connected for a 6-2 run featuring a pair of kills from freshman Martina Spackova (Bratislava, Slovakia), propelling Pierce to an opening set victory, 25-21.

After the second set opened with a 2-0 Raven lead, the two squads continued to play leapfrog on the scoreboard with four different lead changes, in time halting at a 7-6 advantage for the Dolphins. However, the Ravens were able to string together seven unanswered points, highlighted by a pair of kills by Ingrid Lindstrom, as well as two service aces from Britney Loyd, establishing a 13-7 cushion. Through the remainder of the set, the lead for the Ravens kept the pressure on the Dolphins, cruising to a 25-17 second set win, while claiming a 2-0 match advantage.

Set three was all Franklin Pierce early on, as seniors Britney Loyd, Ingrid Lindstrom and Mariah Robles (West Covina, Calif.) got the Ravens going out of the gate with an 11-4 lead on the Dolphins. On separate occasions through the remainder of the set, the Dolphins would go on separate 5-0 and 4-0 runs in an attempt to pull themselves back into the action, but two final kills by Ingrid Lindstrom would give FPU the win they were looking for. The Ravens would win the game, 3-0 on a final set score of 25-20.

Ingrid Lindstrom led the way offensively for the Ravens on the afternoon, with 13 total kills along with a solid .600 hitting percentage through all three sets. Mariah Robles, for the second straight match and the fifth time this season, recorded a double-double with 13 total kills, along with 10 digs in the win. Freshman setter Annaka Lindstrom (Dudley, Mass.) tied her third highest assist total this season, collecting 42 helpers with three block assists at the net. Additionally, junior libero Morgan Schmutzler (Lockport, Ill.) led the defensive effort with 16 digs.  

The regular season closes out, but the action will continue onward for Ravens' volleyball as they await the official layout of the upcoming NE10 Championship tournament.