Ristow posts double-double against host River Hawks

Box Score vs. Gannon
Box Score vs. Massachusetts Lowell

LOWELL, Mass. (August 29, 2009) – Senior Elsa LeGrand hammered out 19 kills and junior Sarah Coscia added an 18-kill, 17-dig double-double on Saturday afternoon to lead Massachusetts Lowell to a 3-2 victory over the Franklin Pierce University volleyball team in non-conference action at the UMass Lowell Tournament, hosted by Massachusetts Lowell at Costello Gymnasium. Senior Katie Ristow (Miami, Fla.) collected a double-double with 12 kills and 17 digs in defeat for Franklin Pierce. Earlier in the day, the Ravens lost their first match of the season, 3-0, to Gannon.

Against Gannon, Franklin Pierce fell by set scores of 19-25, 21-25 and 15-25. The Ravens took the first set from Massachusetts Lowell, 25-21, before dropping the next two, 12-25 and 23-25. After Franklin Pierce forced a fifth set with a 25-23 victory in the fourth set, the River Hawks closed out the match with a 15-11 victory in the fifth set. With the losses, Franklin Pierce opens the season 0-2 (0-0 Northeast-10). Massachusetts Lowell improves to 1-1 (0-0 Northeast-10), while Gannon improves to 2-0 (0-0 Pennsylvania State)

Ristow led the way offensively against Gannon as well, with a team-high nine kills while chipping in seven digs as well. The only Raven in double figures in the first match of the day was junior Pamela Walker (Chino Hills, Calif.), who tallied 13 assists.

For Gannon, freshman Lauren Sazama led the way with 15 kills and 13 digs to post a double-double and post match highs in both categories. She worked primarily off the set of senior Maire Prybyl, who dished out a match-best 34 assists.

Against Massachusetts Lowell, Ristow’s double-double led the way for the Ravens and she served up a match-high six aces as well, while senior Caitlynn Parnell (Medina, Texas) collected 11 kills of her own and picked up six blocks (two solo) on the defensive side of the net. Walker also tallied a double-double for Franklin Pierce in the match, as she recorded 14 digs and dished out 26 assists. Junior libero Chelsie Kohout (Harrison Township, Mich.) recorded 15 digs for the Ravens.

For the River Hawks, junior Jillian Hadder joined Coscia and LeGrand in double digits with 11 kills of her own and added 17 digs for the double-double. Also tallying a double-double for Massachusetts Lowell was senior setter Nichole Rondeau, with a match-best 43 assists and 15 digs. The River Hawks chalked up 87 digs defensively, with Coscia, Hadder, Rondeau, senior Allie Eide (14) and junior Ashlee Scott (13) each reaching double figures.

The Ravens return to the court on Saturday, Sept. 5, when they travel to Assumption for a pair of non-conference matches at the Assumption College Labor Day Mixer. Franklin Pierce will face host Assumption at noon and Stonehill at 2 p.m. at Laska Gymnasium in Worcester, Mass.