WILMINGTON, Del. (September 13, 2019) – The Franklin Pierce University volleyball team concluded the first day of the Wildcat Invitational hosted by Wilmington (Del.) University with two defeats, a 3-1 (19-25, 25-22, 19-25, 22-25) loss to Holy Family University and a tough five-set, 3-2 (18-25, 25-21, 25-22, 23-25, 12-15) setback to Jefferson University Friday evening at the WU Sports Complex. The two losses even the Ravens record at 3-3 on the year.

Game One: Tigers 3, Ravens 1 (19-25, 25-22, 19-25, 22-25)

Senior captain Abigail Garnhart (Colorado Springs, Colo.) carried the load offensively for the Ravens with a team-high 12 kills and a .409 hitting percentage. Teammate Cierra Dolan (Ronkonkoma, N.Y.) added 10 kills and two blocks. Setter Mary Pease (East Haddam, Conn.) handed out 33 assists while manufacturing 13 digs on defense and senior outside hitter Jocelyn Moody (Biddeford, Maine) led all Ravens with 18 digs.

The Tigers had three players with double-digit kills. Carly Covington produced a game-high 15 kills to go along with 10 digs. Gianna Pesognelli had 14 kills and a .636 hitting percentage while Allyssa Hartney tallied 10 kills, three digs and a block.

As a team, the Ravens were better at the net than Holy Family out blocking them 10-to-8, but the Tigers had more aces (9-to-5).

The Ravens took an early 3-0 lead due to two attack errors and a Pease service ace. Holy Family fought back to make it a 4-3 game as Pesognelli floated an attempt into the middle of the court. The Pierce lead expanded to 11-7 when Pease set up Abigail Garnhart for a kill that was deposited to the right pin. Holding a 13-10 lead, the Crimson and Gray went on a 5-1 mini-spurt to lead 18-11 with freshman middle hitter Ingrid Lindstrom (Dudley, Mass.) and Dolan coming up with a key block. The Tigers changed the shape of the set by locking down and holding the Ravens to only one more point while outscoring their counterparts 14-1 to take a 1-0 match lead.

In the second set, the Ravens held an 8-6 margin due to a freshman Tessa Brandt (Foster, R.I.) floater into the open space. Holy Family went up by two, 11-9 thanks to a service ace. Trailing 14-10, the Ravens pulled within one, 14-13 after a Dolan and Lindstrom kill coupled with a service error. Two straight points by Holy Family upped their lead to 16-13.

FPU jumped back ahead 19-18 off a Pease ace, which was part of a 6-2 Raven run. A long rally ensued a couple of serves later which ended up being a key point to the Ravens second set victory when Lindstrom and classmate Mariah Robles (West Covina, Calif.) skied up for a huge set-shifting dual block. The Ravens clinched the second set win when Dolan smashed a left side attempt off the Tiger libero and out of play.

Pease kick-started the important third set with an ace combined with three Robles kills and a Holy Family attack error to increase the Raven lead to 5-0. The Tigers regained the advantage at 11-10 off back-to-back aces. FPU moved back ahead 14-11 using a Pease and Garnhart block. The see-saw set continued with Holy Family regaining the edge 17-16. A timeout halted play and the Ravens tied the game 17-17 via a Dolan mash. Three straight points from Holy Family gave them a 20-17 lead. Pierce came within two points twice over the next few serves until a Pesognelli kill reestablished the three-point, 22-19 advantage. They would go on to notch the final three markers to take a 2-1 lead in the match.

In the fourth set, Pierce staked out to a 6-5 margin via a block by the freshman duo of Lindstrom and Robles. Both teams traded points and possessions keeping the game tied at 13 all. With the set tied 15-15, Pease set up Lindstrom on a curl to the right side to crack the tie. Later in the set at 21-21, Holy Family produced two huge points to take a 23-21 lead requiring the Ravens to use a timeout. HFU was one point away from a three-set win, but they served the ball out of play, however, Covington concluded the match, a 3-1 win.

Game Two: Rams 3, Ravens 2 (18-25, 25-21, 25-22, 23-25, 12-15)

Three athletes for the Crimson and Grey had double-digit kills. Ingrid Lindstrom manufactured a team-leading 13 kills and hit .409 with two blocks. Cierra Dolan pumped in 12 kills with two blocks and Abigail Garnhart had 10 kills, a team-high four aces with three digs and a block. Mary Pease handed out 52 assists in the loss and Ellie Ivanova (Sofia, Bulgaria) led all Ravens with 23 digs.

Lauren Kloos paced all players with 19 kills and added 12 digs for good measure in a double-double effort. Abigail Kress hit .375 with 14 kills for Jefferson.

Jefferson jumped ahead 4-0 before the Ravens used an 8-1 scoring run to lead 8-5 when Robles converted a touch attack from the right side. The Rams rallied to move in front off a Logan Dontell ace at 12-11. A Molly Hand attack error tied the set 13-13 as the Rams poured on five consecutive markers to lead 18-13. The Crimson and Gray pulled within six thanks to an Addison Wright (Carmel, Ind.) ace. Lauren Kloos put Jefferson on the board tallying the 25th point of the set.

In the second set, the Ravens trailed 4-0, but as they did in the first set, they rallied to hold a four-point margin, 12-8 due to an Abigail Garnhart and Brandt block. Jefferson took a timeout and pulled within two, 12-10 off a kill and a Raven ball handling error. Dontell cut the deficit to one, 17-16 until a Lindstrom middle mash reestablished the two-point 18-16 lead. Garnhart put the Ravens ahead 21-18 but Jefferson reeled off three straight to tie the game 21-21. FPU scored four in a row to including a double block by Pease and Robles to win the second set.

The third set had a couple of ties early and Jefferson broke the deadlock at 11-9 after an ace. An Abigail Garnhart kill and ace evened the set at 11-11. Both teams kept on trading blows until the Rams dumped on four consecutive to lead 20-16. The Ravens cut into the lead 20-19 thanks to a Robles kill. A few serves later, Robles and Dolan had solo blocks to give the Ravens a 22-21 lead. Serves played a key role for the final few points as Abigail Garnhart notched two straight aces clinching the all-important third set for FPU.

With the fourth set tied 12-12, the Ravens went on a 5-1 rout to lead 17-13. Behind by five, the Rams rallied to tie the game with five straight including two dual blocks, two kills, and an ace. A Molly Hand ball handing error put the Ravens two points away from a match victory. The Rams had other ideas putting together three in a row to win the fourth set.

The Ravens tied the fifth set at 4-4 with Lindstrom successfully killing off an attempt. Two Raven mistakes, a service error and a bad set with a kill put the Rams in front 8-5 as the teams switched sides. Down four, 10-6 a kill, a Robles ace, and an attack error put the Ravens within one, 10-9. Jefferson upped the score to three winning the match in five.

The Ravens remain in Wilmington tomorrow for two more matches against Georgian Court University and the host Wildcats at noon and 4:00 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/).