Rowinski posts 15 kills over two matches

Box Score vs. Massachusetts Lowell
Box Score vs. Dowling

LOWELL, Mass. (September 26, 2009) – Sophomore Dana Rowinski (Dix Hills, N.Y.) tallied 15 kills over two matches on Saturday, as the Franklin Pierce University volleyball team was defeated, 3-0, by both Massachusetts Lowell and Dowling at Costello Gym. The match against Massachusetts Lowell was a Northeast-10 Conference contest, while the meeting with Dowling was a non-conference affair. Junior libero Chelsie Kohout (Harrison Township, Mich.) collected 29 digs over the two matches.

In the first match of the day, Franklin Pierce was swept by Massachusetts Lowell, 25-19, 25-15 and 25-22. Later, the Ravens were defeated, 25-13, 25-12 and 25-12, by Dowling. With the pair of losses, Franklin Pierce falls to 3-11 (0-2 Northeast-10).

Against Massachusetts Lowell, Rowinski led the Ravens with a match-best 10 kills, while senior Caitlynn Parnell (Medina, Texas) added nine of her own. Junior Pamela Walker (Chino Hills, Calif.) dished out a match-best 26 assists, while Kohout and senior Katie Ristow (Miami, Fla.) led the way defensively with 15 and 10 digs, respectively. Parnell and Walker each tallied three block assists.

For Massachusetts Lowell, sophomore Lea Freeman led the way with nine kills, while seniors Elsa LeGrand and Nichole Rondeau added six kills each. Freeman led all players with a .471 hitting percentage in the match, as she committed just one error in 17 attempts. The offense ran through Rondeau, who dished out 22 assists. Defensively, junior Vicky Wong (16 digs), junior Jillian Hadder (14) and senior Allie Eide (12) each hit double digits for the River Hawks, while junior Sarah Coscia led the team with three blocks (one solo). Massachusetts Lowell served up eight aces in the match against just two service errors.

Neither team was able to find much in the way of offense in the first match of the day. Massachusetts Lowell hit .150 (35 kills, 19 errors, 107 attempts) in the win, while Franklin Pierce posted an .078 hitting percentage (35 kills, 25 errors, 129 attempts) in the losing effort.

The turning point of the match came between the middle of the first set and the start of the second set. With Franklin Pierce leading the first set, 13-11, Massachusetts Lowell ran off eight of the next nine points behind the serves of junior Ashlee Scott and Hadder to take a 19-14 lead on the way to the 25-19 victory. The River Hawks then picked up eight of the first 10 points in the second set on the way to a 25-15 win and never looked back.

Against Dowling, Ristow led the Ravens with six kills while Rowinski added five more to total 15 on the day. Walked handed out 18 more assists, while Kohout tied for the match lead with 14 digs.

For the Golden Lions, freshman Bethany Shepard tallied nine kills while senior Kelly Scott added eight of her own. Neither committed an error in the match, which allowed Shepard to hit .562 over 16 attempts and Scott to hammer a match-best .615 over 13 attempts. The offense ran through a pair of setters in sophomore Maja Potpara and junior Erin Przybylowicz, who handed out 20 and 14 assists, respectively. Freshman Morgan Mutranowski matched Kohout’s 14 digs for Dowling. Shepard led all players with five blocks (one solo).

Dowling featured a high-octane offense all afternoon and finished the match with 37 kills to just three errors and chalked up a .466 hitting percentage over 73 attempts. Once again, the Franklin Pierce offense was held under .100, as the Ravens hit .092 (23 kills, 16 errors, 76 attempts) in defeat.

The Ravens return to the court on Tuesday, Sept. 29, when they return home to host Southern New Hampshire in a Northeast-10 Conference contest. The match is scheduled for 7 p.m. at the Fieldhouse in Rindge, N.H.