Ray, Miller earn All-Northeast-10 selections

Northeast-10 Volleyball All-Conference Teams

RINDGE, N.H. (November 15, 2012) – Head Coach Stephanie Dragan of the Franklin Pierce University volleyball team has been named Northeast-10 Conference Coach of the Year, as announced Thursday by the Conference office. In addition, three players received accolades from the Conference: junior outside hitter Natasha Ray (Colorado Springs, Colo.) was selected to the All-Northeast-10 First Team, junior libero Lauren Miller (Alexandria, Ind.) was selected to the All-Northeast-10 Second Team and freshman middle Lina Kleinschmidt (Santa Barbara, Calif.) was selected to the Northeast-10 All-Rookie Team.

Dragan, in her fourth season at the helm of the Ravens (19-14, 12-3 Northeast-10), and the first in which she has coached only players she recruited, has the team poised to collect the first NCAA Championship berth in program history. Franklin Pierce has reached program high-water marks with 12 Northeast-10 wins and a third-place finish, while the team's 19 wins is its most since 1993. Dragan now has 50 wins with the Ravens, the third-highest total in program annals.

Ray is the program's first-ever All-Northeast-10 First Team pick and also the first All-Conference selection for the Ravens since Chelsie Kohout '11 landed on the Third Team in 2010. Through the quarterfinal round of the Northeast-10 Championship, she ranks 20th in the Northeast-10 in kills per set (2.52), 15th in digs per set (3.36), third in aces per set (0.47) and 17th in points per set (3.30). Through Nov. 11, Ray ranked 41st in the nation in service aces per set (0.49).

On the season, while playing in all but one set for the Ravens, Ray has tallied 313 kills with 136 errors over 1,197 attempts to hit .148. She has added 417 digs, 58 aces and 58 blocks (18 solo) to total 409 points.

Miller earns her first All-Conference selection after landing on the Northeast-10 All-Rookie Team as a freshman in 2010. She ranks fifth in the Northeast-10 in digs per set (4.55) and 13th in aces per set (0.39). Miller has tallied 569 digs and 49 aces overall.

Kleinschmidt currently ranks seventh in the Northeast-10 in blocks per set (0.88), ninth in aces per set (0.41) and 25th in points per set (2.87). She is the second All-Rookie selection for the Ravens in the last three years, joining Miller's selection in 2010. On the season, Kleinschmidt has recorded 230 kills against 81 errors over 568 attempts to hit .262 while playing in all but four sets. She has added 49 aces and 105 blocks (25 solo) to total 344 points.

The Ravens were eliminated, 3-2, by Pace in the quarterfinal round of the Northeast-10 Championship on Tuesday night, but will discover on Sunday night if they have earned the first NCAA Championship berth in program history. The selection show will be webcast live on ncaa.com at 10 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).