Ravens head into Northeast-10 Championship as third seed

WORCESTER, Mass. (November 10, 2012) – Junior outside hitter Natasha Ray (Colorado Springs, Colo.) and sophomore outside hitter Catie Swiderski (Rocky Point, N.Y.) hammered out 19 kills each as both hit over .300 on Saturday afternoon to lead the Franklin Pierce University volleyball team to a come-from-behind, 3-2 victory over Assumption in Northeast-10 Conference play and the regular-season finale at Laska Gymnasium. Junior outside hitter Lauren Ostafin led Assumption with 12 kills.

With the win, Franklin Pierce improves to 19-13 (12-3 Northeast-10), while Assumption falls to 10-20 (4-11 Northeast-10). Assumption won the first two sets, 27-25 and 25-16, before Franklin Pierce rallied for the victory with set wins of 25-14, 25-21 and 15-9. The Ravens finish third in the Northeast-10, and will host sixth-seeded Pace on Tuesday at 5 p.m. in the quarterfinal round of the Northeast-10 Championship.

Already trailing 2-0, Franklin Pierce fell behind 6-3 early in the third set before asserting itself. Ray put away back-to-back kills to pick up Swiderski after a service error and the teams would stay close until the set reached 10-10. From there, junior right side Ashley Bruce (Hampton Falls, N.H.) put away a kill and then the Ravens ran off eight straight points on the serve of junior libero Lauren Miller (Alexandria, Ind.) to jump to an 18-10 lead and effectively kick-start the afternoon's comeback. Miller had two aces in the run, while Swiderski notched three kills.

Swiderski and Ray were the only two offensive options to reach double digits for the Ravens, though junior middle Katie Jackson (Centennial, Colo.) added eight kills along the way. As a team, Franklin Pierce hit .224 over 152 attempts. The Ravens ran the offense through junior setter Stephanie Svorinic (Scottsdale, Ariz.), who dished out a match-best 47 assists.

Defensively, Miller led all players with 23 digs, while Ray (13), Svorinic (12) and Swiderski (10) all reached double figures as well, as each finished off a double-double. At the net, the Ravens mustered only five blocks in the five-set affair, though Jackson figured in on three of them to lead all players.

Behind Ostafin for Assumption, both junior middle Ryan Merle and sophomore outside hitter Ann Donahue added nine kills, as each hit over .250 as a pair of primary attack options for the Greyhounds. They worked off the set of junior Kristin Flatekval, who finished with 42 assists and also dumped in five kills in 11 attempts.

Defensively, junior Jess Reimers led Assumption with 17 digs and was joined in double digits by Ostafin (13 to finish her double-double) and senior libero Steph Whooten (11). Up front, the Greyhounds matched Franklin Pierce's five blocks, with Merle and Donahue contributing two block assists each.

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).