Miller chalks up 27 digs

NORTH ANDOVER, Mass. (October 16, 2012) – Freshman middle Lina Kleinschmidt (Santa Barbara, Calif.) hit .333 with 13 kills and added five block assists on Tuesday night to lead the Franklin Pierce University volleyball team to a 3-1 win on the road over Merrimack in Northeast-10 Conference play at Volpe Center. Junior outside hitter Natasha Ray (Colorado Springs, Colo.) added 14 kills, 14 digs, five blocks (three solo) and two aces to total 20 points in the victory for the Ravens.

With the win, Franklin Pierce improves to 11-11 (5-1 Northeast-10), while Merrimack falls to 7-12 (0-6 Northeast-10). The Ravens won the first set, 25-21, before Merrimack evened things with a 25-17 victory in the second set. From there, Franklin Pierce put the match away with 25-20 wins in both the third and fourth sets.

Leading 2-1 and trying to put away the match before Merrimack could force a fifth set, the Ravens trailed 12-10 in the fourth when the Warriors committed back-to-back errors to level the set at 12-12. That would serve as the opening two points on an 11-4 surge for the Ravens, who stormed to a 21-16 lead after consecutive kills by junior middle Katie Jackson (Centennial, Colo.) and Ray on either side of a Merrimack timeout. The two sides would trade points the rest of the way as Franklin Pierce put the match on ice.

Offensively, Kleinschmidt was the only Raven to hit above .300 on the night (minimum 10 attempts), as Franklin Pierce hit just .166 on the way to the four-set victory. After Ray and Kleinschmidt, both Jackson and sophomore outside hitter Catie Swiderski (Rocky Point, N.Y.) finished with six kills each. The Ravens ran the offense through the set of junior Stephanie Svorinic (Scottsdale, Ariz.), who dished out 36 assists.

Defensively, junior libero Lauren Miller (Alexandria, Ind.) led the way with 27 digs, her seventh match of 20 digs or more on the season, as well as her fourth in matches of four sets or fewer. She was joined in double digits by Ray, who finished off a double-double with 14 digs. At the net, behind Kleinschmidt and Ray's five blocks each, junior right side Ashley Bruce (Hampton Falls, N.H.) added three block assists.

For Merrimack, both sophomore right side Corrine Gosselin and senior middle Jenna Reilly finished with 14 kills, with the latter hitting .500 with just three errors in 22 attempts, and the latter hitting .303. However, the Warriors also set 33 balls for senior outside hitter Shaunda Forcier, who hit -.030 with seven errors, and 46 more for sophomore outside hitter Stephanie Sheehan, who hit only .130 (but added eight kills), as the team hit only .174 on the evening. Senior setter Brianna Trabucco controlled the offense for Merrimack, as she contributed a match-high 43 assists.

On the other side of the net, three Warriors finished with double-digit dig totals: freshman libero Madison Burke (26), sophomore setter Allison Cote (20) and Sheehan (12). At the net, Sheehan led the team with three blocks (one solo).

The Ravens return to the court on Saturday, Oct. 20, when they return home to host Southern Connecticut State and LIU Post in a tri-match. Franklin Pierce will take on SCSU in a Northeast-10 Conference match at 1 p.m. and LIU Post in a non-conference tilt at 3 p.m. The Owls and Pioneers will face each other in the nightcap at 5 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). Fans wishing to purchase Franklin Pierce volleyball apparel can do so at the Department of Athletics' brand new online store (http://athletics.franklinpierce.edu/store).