Lindstrom’s Impressive Debut and Pease’s Record Assist Mark Help Ravens to Day One Sweep in N.Y.

DOBBS FERRY, N.Y. (September 7, 2019) – The Franklin Pierce University volleyball teams 2019 season started off with a bang by sweeping Post University 3-0 (25-11, 25-14, 25-16) and taking a thrilling five-set battle 3-2 versus host Mercy College (25-27, 25-22, 19-25, 25-19, 21-15) during the first day of the Long Island Invitational at the Victory Hall Sports Center. The wins give the Crimson and Grey a 2-0 record in the early going while the Eagles remain winless (0-4) and the Mavericks move to 2-2.

Making her collegiate debut, freshman Ingrid Lindstrom (Dudley, Mass.) was a dominant force from the middle amassing a two-game team-high total of 41 kills, a .556 hitting percentage and four total blocks. Lindstrom quickly put her name in the single match program records tallying 27 kills versus Mercy which is the fourth-highest mark in program annals. She also hit .667 in her season debut against Post which is the sixth most efficient attack percentage in team history.

Junior setter Mary Pease (East Haddam, Conn.) starred of both ends of the court for Pierce. Pease set the team single-match record for assists producing 66 helpers for her teammates against Mercy. Her mark of 66 was five better than Karissa Hookstadt's previous total of 61 which was set on September 19, 2008, at Fayetteville State. Pease tacked on 34 assists to give her 100 through two games. On defense, she ranked second with 34 digs.

Game One: Ravens 3, Eagles 0 (25-11, 25-14, 25-16)

Lindstrom paced the Ravens offense with 14 kills off 18 attack attempts. Classmate Tessa Brandt (Foster, R.I.) chipped in eight kills and six digs while senior captain Abigail Garnhart (Colorado Springs, Colo.) manufactured seven kills and a team-best three aces. Junior transfer Ellie Ivanova (Sofia, Bulgaria) had a team-high 11 digs.

As a team, the Ravens hit .337 in the match with seven aces and only one reception miscue. Aniya Goodman had five kills for the Eagles and hit .571

Trailing 2-0 in the first set, the Ravens went on a 5-0 spurt capped off by a Garnhart kill to lead 5-2. Post rallied to tie the game at 10-10 via a Cassidee Knox to Mikayla McLeod connection. Ivanova took over service following a Lindstrom kill, which was part of a set changing 15-1 binge to give the Ravens the 1-0 game lead.

Brandt set up Pease for one of her three kills in the duel to put FPU in the driver's seat 7-2 in the second set. Ahead by six, 12-6, the Ravens kept on racking up points building their edge to 18-8. Freshman outside hitter Britney Loyd (Foster, R.I.) recorded her first college kill to move the margin to 22-10 before taking a commanding 2-0 set advantage. In the final set, the Ravens were threatened early but steadied the ship to complete the 3-0 sweep.

Game Two: Ravens 3, Mavericks 2 (25-27, 25-22, 19-25, 25-19, 21-19)

Lindstrom and Garnhart conquered the middle in game two as they were set for attacks a whopping 92 times. Lindstrom hit .511 with a game-high 27 kills while Garnhart had 23 kills of her own which were a new career-high besting her previous mark of 21 that happened last year at Merrimack on September 18th.

Brandt logged a double-double with 11 kills and 15 digs. Pease handed out 66 assists and had 25 digs on defense. Ivanova dug out 27 attempts and senior outside hitter Jocelyn Moody (Biddeford, Maine) ranked third on the team with 17 digs.

For the Mavericks, Selma Vulic killed 17 attempts pacing her team and added 14 digs on defense. Imani DeBose matched Vulic with 17 kills of her own. FPU held the edge in aces (9-8) with Addison Wright (Carmel, Ind.) having three of them. The Ravens also had a better attack percentage and more digs than their counterparts.

A Mercy attack error put the Ravens ahead 16-13 in the first set. The FPU lead stayed at three until three straight points by the hosts deadlocked the game 20-20. The teams swapped points and Wright put the Ravens on the brink of a first set win, but a Vulic kill, a block, and another Vulic kill gave the Mavericks a 27-25 set win.

The second set was a back and forth affair as the Ravens took a late 20-19 lead off a Lindstrom kill. Ahead by two, 22-20, Pease dished off the ball to sophomore outside hitter Cierra Dolan (Ronkonkoma, N.Y.) to up the margin to 23-20. Holding a one-point lead, Lindstrom and a Mercy block error tied the match at 1-1.

Both teams traded victories in the third and fourth set setting up for an epic set five battle. Brandt pushed her squad ahead 3-1 in the early stages before a Vulic kill reestablished the lead for the home team. A Stephanie Lankhorst service error put the Ravens one point away from a comeback win. However, FPU committed an attack error to keep the game tied.

The Ravens faced elimination three times over the next couple of serves fending off their opponents all three times using two Lindstrom kills and a clutch Pease block to make the set 18-18. Tied at 19, Brandt and Garnhart ended the match with back-to-back kills.

FPU ends their trip to the empire state tomorrow with two matches at Queens College with first serve set for 11:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m.

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/).