Walker posts double-double for Ravens

Box Score

RINDGE, N.H. (September 18, 2009) – Senior Shelby Klein hammered out a match-best 16 kills and added 10 digs on Friday night to post a double-double and lead New York Institute of Technology to a 3-1 victory over the Franklin Pierce University volleyball team in non-conference play at Franklin Pierce’s Fieldhouse. Junior setter Pamela Walker (Chino Hills, Calif.) tallied 27 assists and 12 digs to notch a double-double of her own for Franklin Pierce in defeat.

NYIT took the first set, 25-19, before the Ravens evened things up with a 25-19 win of their own in the second set. However, the Bears would close out the match from there, with 25-19 and 25-15 wins in the third and fourth sets, respectively. The match was part of the Northeast-10/East Coast Conference Challenge, which continues tomorrow at Bentley.

With the win, NYIT improves to 5-4 (0-0 East Coast), while Franklin Pierce falls to 2-6 (0-0 Northeast-10) with the loss.

For Franklin Pierce, senior Katie Ristow (Miami, Fla.) led the offense with 10 digs and tallied a .292 hitting percentage over 24 attacks (three errors). Fellow senior Caitlynn Parnell (Medina, Texas) added nine kills and a .250 hitting percentage (three errors, 24 attacks) for the Ravens. On the defensive side of the net, sophomore Dana Rowinski (Dix Hill, N.Y.) led three Ravens in double figures with 15 digs, as she was joined by Walker and junior libero Chelsie Kohout (Harrison Township, Mich.), who posted 12 and 10 digs, respectively. Senior Megan Feldmeth (South Pasadena, Calif.) contributed a pair of solo blocks for Franklin Pierce.

Klein and her 16 kills led three NYIT players in double figures, as she was joined by junior Nina Cicero (14 kills) and sophomore Tugce Sirdas (13). Cicero led the Bears with a .355 hitting percentage, as she committed three errors over 31 attempts. The offense ran through the set of sophomore Emily Syers, who chalked up 44 assists. Meanwhile, defensively, sophomore libero Lisa Peacock (18 digs), Sirdas (15) and Klein (10) all hit double digits as both Sirdas and Klein chalked up double-doubles.

Despite an offense which hit only .091 in the opening set, the Ravens had a chance to take a 1-0 lead, thanks to an eight-point run on the serve of Parnell, which turned a 10-5 deficit into a 13-10 lead. However, NYIT would later respond with a six-point run behind Sirdas’ serve to take a 23-17 lead it would not relinquish.

Franklin Pierce found the offense in the second set, as it posted a .364 hitting percentage and five Ravens recorded at least two kills, led by Parnell with four. That was all the threat Franklin Pierce could muster on the night, however, as they hit just .091 in a third-set loss before NYIT closed out the match by hitting .417 with 17 kills in the fourth set.

Klein led the way in the fourth set with five kills, while Sirdas and Cicero each added four of their own. The Bears effectively put the match out of reach with a seven-point run behind the serve of Peacock, which included a pair of aces and stretched a 14-9 lead all the way out to 21-9.

The Ravens return to the court on Saturday, Sept. 19, in the second day of the Northeast-10/East Coast Conference Challenge, hosted by Bentley at Dana Center in Waltham, Mass. Franklin Pierce takes on Bridgeport at 1 p.m. and Queens at 3 p.m. The Ravens next play at home on Sept. 29 against Southern New Hampshire.