Ravens wait for word on NCAA Championship bid

RINDGE, N.H. (November 13, 2012) – Freshman outside hitter Sydni Schulz (Cypress, Texas) hammered out 13 kills with just two errors over 30 attempts to hit a team-best .367 on Tuesday night, but the third-seeded Franklin Pierce University volleyball team was defeated, 3-2, by sixth-seeded Pace in the quarterfinal round of the Northeast-10 Conference Championship at the Fieldhouse. Senior outside hitter Nora Rugova put away 21 kills, while freshman outside hitter Megan Kurz hit .385 with 13 kills in the win for Pace.

With the loss, Franklin Pierce falls to 19-14 and must wait until Sunday's selection show (10 p.m. at ncaa.com) to discover if the team has earned the first NCAA Championship berth in program history. With the win, Pace improves to 17-17 and advances to play at 7:30 p.m. Friday against the winner of Tuesday night's quarterfinal match between second-seeded Adelphi and seventh-seeded American International.

Pace won the first set, 25-20, before Franklin Pierce clawed back even with a 25-23 win in the second set. Again, Pace jumped out front with a 25-15 win in the third, before the Ravens made it 2-2 with a 25-22 win in the fourth set. The Setters then put away the match with a 15-12 win in the decisive fifth set.

Trailing 4-2 in the fifth set, Pace got three consecutive kills from Rugova to jump to a 5-4 lead and would not trail again for the rest of the evening. After a kill by sophomore outside hitter Catie Swiderski (Rocky Point, N.Y.) tied the set, Pace ripped off four straight points, including a pair of kills by Kurz, in their first attempt to take control of the final set. The Ravens fought back within two points on six different occasions, including at 13-11 on a kill by freshman middle Lina Kleinschmidt (Santa Barbara, Calif.). Rugova answered with the last of her 21 kills to give Pace its first match point, which the Ravens fought off with a kill by Schulz. However, the Ravens could not save the next match point, as an error on their own side of the net would give Pace the last point it needed.

Schulz was the most efficient option on offense for Franklin Pierce on the night, though it was junior outside hitter Natasha Ray (Colorado Springs, Colo.) who led the team in kills, with 14. Junior middle Katie Jackson (Centennial, Colo.) and Swiderski rounded out the attackers in double digits with 11 and 10 kills, respectively, while Kleinschmidt finished with nine and hit .250. Junior setter Stephanie Svorinic (Scottsdale, Ariz.) dished out a match-best 54 assists.

However, the offensive story for the Ravens may have been told by their miscues, as Kleinschmidt and Schulz were the only regular attack options to finish the day hitting .250 or higher. In all, Franklin Pierce committed 29 attack errors, its highest total of 2012. In addition, a Ravens service game that had not been held under five service aces since Oct. 6 mustered just two, while committing five service errors.

Defensively for Franklin Pierce, Ray led the way with 27 digs, with junior libero Lauren Miller (Alexandria, Ind.) right behind her at 24. Both Svorinic (14) and Swiderski (11) reached double digits in digs as well. The team's seven-block front-row effort was led by Schulz, who figured in on three blocks (one solo).

For Pace, Rugova and Kurz combined to do most of the damage, though senior middles Tamilee Webb and Sara Atai added nine kills each. The Setters ran the offense through sophomore setter Brooke Speyerer, who collected 53 assists, while dumping in four kills in nine attempts. Pace served up eight aces along the way, with Speyerer, Webb and freshman outside hitter Alyssa Marchino all contributing two each.

On the other side of the ball, senior libero Elyse Rowland led all players with 37 digs, and was joined in double digits by Rugova (15), Marchino (11) and freshman defensive specialist Rebecca Italiano (10). The Setters front line had only five blocks, but Webb was a part of four of them (two solo) to lead all players.

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).