Owls Best Ravens In Senior Day Duel

RINDGE, N.H. (October 27, 2018) – Franklin Pierce University volleyball junior outside hitter Sarah Roach (Provo, Utah) manufactured a match-high 15 kills with five digs on the defensive end as the Ravens were defeated by Northeast-10 Conference opponent Southern Connecticut State University 3-1 (22-25, 11-25, 25-18, 19-25) Saturday afternoon on Senior Day. With the win, the Owls advance to 15-13, 8-4 NE10 while the Ravens were defeated in their 11th conference contest.

Roach attempted a game-best 52 attack attempts and hit .192. Freshman Cierra Dolan (Ronkonkoma, N.Y.) tallied eight kills while junior Abigail Garnhart (Colorado Springs, Colo.) recorded seven kills, a team-high six blocks, and three digs. On the defensive end, senior Brittney Carias (Burlingame, Calif.) produced 23 digs and Mary Pease (East Haddam, Conn.) dished out 32 assists.

Southern Connecticut was led by Alyssa Gage's 14 kills, .281 hitting percentage, and 12 digs. She also had five total blocks.

Seniors Marisa Lamb (Phoenix, Ariz.) and Brittney Carias were honored in a pregame ceremony for their contributions to the team, athletic department and the Franklin Pierce University community.

Franklin Pierce took their first lead in the match 2-1 via a ball handling error by Owl setter Kailyn O'Neal. Jennifer Dawson rocketed an ace to move the guests ahead 8-4. Dolan stopped the three consecutive points for SCSU by curling to the right side and bashing a set from Pease to cut the deficit to 8-5. Trailing 10-8, FPU notched three straight markers of their own capped off by a Pease solo stuff to regain the edge towards the host side at 11-10. The Owls responded with a 6-1 run to lead 16-12 and force FPU into a timeout.

After the stoppage, the Ravens used a Roach and Dolan kill coupled with two Owl attack miscues to make it a one-point set 17-16. Pease committed a ball handling error to grow the Southern Connecticut advantage to 21-17. FPU would come within two multiple times as another kill after a Raven timeout brought their deficit back to two, 23-21. The Owls won the set 25-22.

FPU racked up the opening three points in the second set using kills by Garnhart and Roach. A 9-2 Owls run brought the set to a 9-5 score in favor of the away team. A Gage error and a Roach ace made it a two-point set, 9-7. Holding a 13-10 lead, the Owls went on a set-clinching 12-1 scoring binge to hold a commanding 2-0 set lead.

Only ahead by one point in the early stages of the third set, Abigail Garnhart came up with a huge block of Kailyn O'Neal to give the Ravens a two-point advantage. Garnhart's stuff was the start of four straight points for FPU who led 11-6 thanks to kills by Roach, freshman Corinne McCarthy (Kalamazoo, Mich.) and Pease. SCSU pulled within three, 17-14 via a Kirstin Colwell kill. O'Neal prepared a set that went out to play to up the FPU margin to 20-15. Three consecutive points from the guests brought the set to 20-18. The Ravens tallied the final five points with two coming off Dolan swings to take the third set 25-18.

In the fourth set, Southern Connecticut jumped in front 9-3 after another ace by Jennifer Dawson. Back-to-back Roach kills combined with an Erika Benson attack error got the Ravens within three, 9-6. The teams swapped points until a Carias ace cut into the Raven deficit, 16-14. A Pease and McCarthy block made it a one-score game, 17-16. The Owls eventually won by a 25-19 margin.

The Ravens head back to the court on Friday, November 2nd when they head to Le Moyne College for a 5:00 p.m. contest.

For more information on Franklin Pierce Athletics, please visit the official website of Franklin Pierce Athletics (http://fpuravens.com). 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 apparel can do so at the Department of Athletics' online store (http://fpuravens.com/store). You can also follow the volleyball program on Twitter (https://twitter.com/FPURavensVB) and Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/fpuravensvb/).