Senior earns first major award in program history

Full Northeast-10 All-Conference Teams

RINDGE, N.H. (November 21, 2013) – Senior libero Lauren Miller (Alexandria, Ind.) of the Franklin Pierce University volleyball team has been named Northeast-10 Conference Co-Libero of the Year, as announced Thursday by the Conference office. She becomes the first player in program history to earn a major Conference award and headlines two Franklin Pierce All-Conference selections, while the Ravens had a total of three players honored by the Conference.

Miller's selection as Co-Libero of the Year -- an honor she shares with Saint Rose junior Katy Daniels -- also earned her a spot on the All-Northeast-10 Conference First Team. She becomes the second All-Northeast-10 First Team selection in program history, after current senior right side Natasha Ray (Colorado Springs, Colo.) became the first a year ago. For her part, Ray followed up last year's accolade with a selection to the All-Northeast-10 Second Team this season. Freshman middle Aiden Garcia (Eagle Pass, Texas) rounded out the Franklin Pierce honorees with a selection to the Northeast-10 All-Rookie Team.

Franklin Pierce was one of six teams in the 15-school Northeast-10 to have at least three players honored on Thursday. Regular season champion New Haven, which just finished its sixth consecutive undefeated season in conference play, led all teams with five players receiving accolades.

For Miller, becoming the first major Northeast-10 award winner in program history is a fitting cap to a celebrated career for the three-time captain, who has in many ways been the face of a culture change which has brought the program back to competitiveness at both the Conference and East Region levels. After finishing third in the Northeast-10 in digs per set as a sophomore and sixth as a junior, she has been even better as a senior, as she currently leads the Northeast-10 with 5.33 digs per set, a number which is also good for 23rd in the nation (through Nov. 17). In addition, Miller is one of three Ravens in the top 10 in the Northeast-10 in service aces per set, as she currently ranks seventh (0.37). Only a three-year libero after spending her freshman campaign as an outside hitter, Miller will still leave the program second all-time in digs, as she currently has 1,763. Furthermore, she has served up more aces than any other player in program history, as she currently sits at 174 after breaking a record held by Mandy Johnson earlier this season. It is the second All-Conference selection for Miller, who was selected to the All-Northeast-10 Second Team as a junior in 2012 and also previously landed on the All-Rookie Team as a freshman in 2010.

On the other side of the spectrum, Miller's libero counterparts in the Northeast-10 are likely ecstatic to see Ray exhaust her eligibility this season, as she has become one of the league's most-feared hitters over the last two seasons. After ranking 20th in the Northeast-10 in kills per set a year ago, Ray has improved on that mark in 2013, averaging 2.62 kills per set to rank 14th in the Conference. In addition, she is a top-10 server in the league for the second straight year, checking in at seventh in aces per set (0.37). While slightly less efficient than some of her Conference brethren, Ray's .190 hitting percentage is still good enough to sit just outside the top 30 in the 15-team Conference, and ranking in the top 20 in attempts allows her to close the gap even further; only three of the 16 other Northeast-10 players to chalk up as many attempts as Ray have hit for higher percentages. In addition, she ranks among the top-50 blockers in the league and it all adds up to 3.19 points per set, good for 12th in the Northeast-10. Ray also mixes in 2.52 digs per set, which ranks in the top 25 in the Conference. It is the second consecutive All-Conference selection for Ray, who, as mentioned above, was the program's first-ever All-Northeast-10 First Team selection as a junior a year ago.

The new kid on the block, Garcia stepped into a role as the team's starting middle from the season's first match and never looked back. At her best offensively, Garcia has effectively served as the fourth option for Franklin Pierce setters, at least in terms of number of attempts, over the course of the season. Garcia has parlayed her 170 swings into 2.12 kills per set -- which ranks 32nd in the Northeast-10 -- by hitting .273, a hitting percentage which ranks 10th in the Conference and among the top 200 in the nation. She was one of just two freshmen to crack to league's top 10 in hitting efficiency, joining Saint Rose middle Maryellen Devic, who ranked fifth at .326. Garcia has mixed in 0.55 blocks per set up front to average 2.48 points per set, with both numbers ranking among the top 40 in the Northeast-10. Garcia is the second All-Rookie Team selection at middle hitter for the Ravens in as many years, as Lina Kleinschmidt earned the same honor a year ago.

The Ravens (14-8, 9-5 Northeast-10) fell in the quarterfinal round of the Northeast-10 Championship on Tuesday night at Adelphi and currently await their fate in terms of selection to the NCAA Championship East Regional. The NCAA Championship field will be announced via a Selection Show web stream at ncaa.com at 7:30 p.m. on Monday, Nov. 25.

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' online store (http://athletics.franklinpierce.edu/store).