EASTON, Mass. (October 12, 2019) – Franklin Pierce University volleyball freshman outside hitter Tessa Brandt (Foster, R.I.) set a new career-high with 14 kills as the Ravens were bettered by Northeast-10 Conference opponent Stonehill College 3-1 (18-25, 21-25, 26-24, 19-25) Saturday afternoon at the Merkert Gymnasium. With the victory, the Skyhawks improve to 9-6, 2-2 NE10 while the setback sends the Ravens to 7-8 overall and 1-3 NE10.

Brandt's 14 kills were one more than her previous personal-best of 13 set during back-to-back wins at the Wildcat Invitational hosted by Wilmington (Del.) University in September. She hit .297 in the match with 10 digs on defense. The middle hitter duo of Abigail Garnhart (Colorado Springs, Colo.) and Ingrid Lindstrom (Dudley, Mass.) had nine kills each and they both blocked three attempted kills apiece. Libero Ellie Ivanova (Sofia, Bulgaria) paced all players with 22 digs while the setting duties were split between junior Mary Pease (East Haddam, Conn.) and sophomore Lauren Herrera (Thousand Oaks, Calif.). Pease dished out a team-high 21 dimes while Herrera chipped in 17 herself.

Sophia Poveda was all the offense for the hosts. She compiled a game-high 16 kills while hitting .368. Basia Peragine and Clare Feeman had eight kills each and Rachel Dunlavy tallied 20 digs on the defensive end.

Stonehill notched the opening three points of the match. The Ravens responded with three of their own, a Garnhart kill, a Brandt ace and a ball-handling error to tie the game. Stonehill regained the lead 8-4, however, the Ravens moved in front 14-12 thanks to a 10-4 scoring spurt of their own capped off by a freshman right-side hitter Mariah Robles (West Covina, Calif.) and Garnhart block. Still holding a two-point advantage, the Skyhawks outscored the Ravens 11-2 to capture the opening set.

An Ivanova ace put Pierce ahead 6-4 in the early stages of the second set. Stonehill tied the set until Ivanova fed Brandt for a kill to regain the advantage towards the guests side at 9-6. Another Stonehill run, this time a 11-4 binge pushed the hosts ahead by four 17-13 off two consecutive Poveda kills. Their lead grew to a high of five before they won the set by a four point margin.

Stonehill started strong in the third set and continued their play up until match point at 24-23. The Ravens fought for points deadlocking the game 24 all as Herrera delivered a perfect set on the outside to Brandt. On the ensuing serve, Ivanova racked up another ace setting the stage for the Ravens to complete a third set comeback. The Ravens successfully dug out their counterparts attack and Herrera set up Garnhart for a middle smash to clinch the third set Raven victory. Franklin Pierce hit a game-best .318 in the important third set and had a match-high 18 kills.

Pierce looked like they turned a corner in the fourth set jumping out to a 7-2 lead. Stonehill immediately tied the game with five in a row at 7-7. A Robles kill gave the crimson and grey their last lead of the match at 9-8. Trailing by three, 18-15, another Robles and Garnhart block with two attack errors tied the set 18-18. Stonehill came to life late to win the set and the match.

The Ravens return home to The Fieldhouse on Friday, October 18th when they host the University of New Haven at 7:00 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/).