Walker dishes out career-best 50 assists

Box Score

RINDGE, N.H. (September 22, 2010) – Senior setter Pam Walker (Chino Hills, Calif.) dished out a career-best 50 assists, including the 1,000th of her career, and freshman middle Katie Jackson (Cherry Creek, Colo.) hit .444 with 15 kills on Wednesday night, but the Franklin Pierce University volleyball team was defeated, 3-1, by Saint Michael's in Northeast-10 Conference play at Franklin Pierce's Fieldhouse. Senior middle Lindsey Frazier led all players with 17 kills and hit .438 for Saint Michael's in the victory.

With the loss, Franklin Pierce falls to 6-2 (0-1 Northeast-10), while Saint Michael's improves to 5-3 (2-0 Northeast-10). Saint Michael's took the first two sets, 25-23 and 26-24, before the Ravens answered with a 25-19 victory in the third set. However, the Purple Knights closed things out with a 25-21 win in the fourth set.

Three Ravens finished in double digits offensively, as senior outside hitter Christina Calderon (Tombstone, Ariz.) collected 14 kills and freshman outside hitter Lauren Miller (Alexandria, Ind.) provided 11 more in addition to Jackson's 15. However, things were sloppy offensively for Franklin Pierce most of the night, as the team hit only .149 with 31 errors against its 54 kills.

Franklin Pierce hit .000 with 11 kills and 11 errors in the first set, but held tight with the Purple Knights despite the miscues. However, Saint Michael's would escape with the 25-23 win on a kill by freshman middle Chelsey Covitz, her first of six on the night.

Balanced offense led the way for Saint Michael's in the second set, as the team hit .222 with just three errors and squeaked out a 26-24 victory, thanks in large part to kills from Frazier at 23-24 and 24-24. Earlier in the match, Frazier had become Saint Michael's' all-time leader in kills with the 955th of her career.

Walker, who had 24 assists (including the 1,000th of her career) through the first two sets, took over for the Ravens in the third set. She dished out 17 helpers, while Jackson and Miller racked up five kills each as Franklin Pierce hit .262 to storm to a 25-19 victory.

The fourth set would feature back-and-forth play, with the Purple Knights using a four-point run on the serve of sophomore libero Courtney Dunne to pull to a 20-15 lead. However, the Ravens would power back to 21-22 behind a four-point run on Walker's serve. From there though, Frazier, sophomore outside hitter Katie Walsh and Covitz collected back-to-back-to-back kills to salt away the match for Saint Michael's.

Defensively for Franklin Pierce, senior libero Chelsie Kohout (Harrison Township, Mich.) led three players in double digits with 23 digs, while she was joined by sophomore right side Kylie Clemens (Lindenhurst, N.Y.) and Miller with 12 and 10 digs, respectively. Miller used the 10 digs to complete her second double-double of the season. Meanwhile, Jackson and fellow freshman middle Ashley Bruce (Hampton Falls, N.H.) each provided three blocks on the night.

For Saint Michael's, Frazier led the way with her 17 kills while Walsh added 10 of her own as the duo worked off the set of freshman Jessica McLeod, who provided 42 assists. Defensively, Dunne chalked up a match-best 26 digs, while Covitz led the Purple Knights with eight block assists.

The Ravens return to the court on Saturday, Sept. 25, when they travel to Merrimack for a Northeast-10 Conference contest. The match is scheduled for 1 p.m. at Volpe Center in North Andover, Mass. Franklin Pierce next plays at home on Oct. 2 against Southern Connecticut State at 7 p.m.

For more information on Franklin Pierce Athletics, please visit the official website of Franklin Pierce Athletics (http://athletics.franklinpierce.edu). Two other ways to follow the Ravens are through the Department of Athletics' official YouTube channel (http://www.youtube.com/franklinpiercesports) and its Twitter feed (http://twitter.com/FPUathletics).