Miller leads all players with 27 digs

RINDGE, N.H. (October 11, 2011) – Freshman outside hitter Catie Swiderski (Rocky Pont, N.Y.) pounded out 19 kills on 62 swings, while sophomore right side Natasha Ray (Colorado Springs, Colo.) notched a 13-kill, 21-dig double-double on Tuesday night, as the Franklin Pierce University volleyball team picked up a 3-1 win over Merrimack in Northeast-10 Conference play at the Fieldhouse. Sophomore setter Stephanie Svorinic (Scottsdale, Ariz.) dished out 45 assists in the victory.

With the win, Franklin Pierce improves to 9-8 overall (3-3 Northeast-10), while Merrimack falls to 3-15 (0-5 Northeast-10). Franklin Pierce won the first set, 25-22, before Merrimack battled back with a 32-30 win as the second set went long. The Ravens recovered with 25-22 and 25-20 wins in the next to sets to salt away the match.

With the match tied at 1-1 and the Ravens trailing, 22-20, in the third set, Swiderski put away her fourth kill of the set to give Franklin Pierce the serve and force a Merrimack timeout. Out of the timeout, the Ravens proceeded to run off the final four points of the set behind the serve of Svorinic with a run that included another kill by Swiderski. With the 2-1 lead, the Ravens fell behind, 13-11, in the fourth set, before sophomore middle Katie Jackson (Centennial, Colo.) put down a kill and Ray picked up four straight points on her serve to give Franklin Pierce a 16-13 lead it would never relinquish.

Swiderski led all players with her 19 kills on the evening, and while Ray was the only other Raven in double digits, three more were not far behind. Jackson picked up nine kills, sophomore middle Ashley Bruce (Hampton Falls, N.H.) added eight and Svorinic dumped eight balls over the net for points on 13 attempts to hit .538. Svorinic was a threat everywhere on the floor, as in addition to the eight kills and 45 assists, she recorded six digs and a block assist.

Defensively, sophomore libero Lauren Miller (Alexandria, Ind.) led all players with 27 digs, sharing the load in the back row with Ray, who completed her double-double with 21 digs. Up front, Jackson racked up six blocks (one solo), while freshman middle Jocelyn Smith (Groton, Conn.) added four more (two solo).

For Merrimack, junior middle Jenna Reilly led the attack with 14 kills and her .216 attack percentage was the team's best (minimum 10 attempts), as the Warriors hit only .093 on the evening. Outside of a .308 while winning the second set, the Merrimack offense sputtered to -.009 over the other three sets. Behind Reilly, sophomore outside hitter Jackie Jones added nine kills and freshman outside hitter Stephanie Sheehan chipped in eight more. The trio and the rest of the offense ran through the set of junior Brianna Trabucco, who finished with 31 assists.

Defensively, Jones led four Warriors in double figures as she finished with 15 digs and was followed by Sheehan (14), Trabucco (11) and freshman libero Allison Cote (11). At the net, Reilly piled up a match-best seven blocks (one solo), while Trabucco notched four block assists.

The Ravens return to the court on Thursday, Oct. 13, when they travel to Southern Connecticut State for a Northeast-10 Conference match. First serve is scheduled for 7 p.m. at Pelz Gymnasium in New Haven, Conn. Franklin Pierce next plays at home on Saturday, Oct. 22 against Saint Rose at 1 p.m.

For more information on Franklin Pierce Athletics, please visit the official website of Franklin Pierce Athletics (http://athletics.franklinpierce.edu). Also be sure to follow the Ravens through the Department of Athletics' official Facebook page (http://www.facebook.com/FranklinPierceRavens), its YouTube channel (http://www.youtube.com/franklinpiercesports) and its Twitter feed (http://twitter.com/FPUathletics).