MANCHESTER, N.H. (September 20, 2016) – The Franklin Pierce University volleyball team opened up Northeast-10 Conference play Tuesday evening in impressive fashion with a 3-0 (25-19, 26-24, 25-19) sweep of host Southern New Hampshire University. The victory improves the Ravens to 5-6, 1-0 NE-10 on the year and the setback drops the Penmen to 2-11, 0-1 NE-10.

The Crimson and Grey have now won five of their last seven contests dating back to the Wildcat Invitational on September 9th. Since 2011, Franklin Pierce has gone 5-1 against SNHU with the Penmen's last victory coming on October 7, 2014.

This contest saw Franklin Pierce come from behind and take the lead late during all three sets.

Katie Leidhold (Acushnet, Mass.) led the way with 16 kills and 19 digs for Pierce making this the fifth straight contest in which she recorded double-digit kills and digs. Abigail Sonuga (Haverhill, Mass.) added nine kills, a .304 hitting percentage and a team-high two blocks while teammate Madison Klusendorf (Santa Maria, Calif.) chipped in seven kills, a .316 hitting percentage and 17 digs. Hannah Runge (Deltona, Fla.) dished out 30 helpers in the win.

SNHU took a 16-13 lead midway through the first set after a Raven attack error. A Hannah St. Jean (Olympia, Wash.) service ace made it a one point 16-15 deficit before the Penmen added a point on a Magure kill. Both squads swapped points until Amanda Costales put SNHU up 19-18 with a kill. The Ravens then tallied seven straight points, six of them coming with Brittney Carias (Burlingame, Calif.) serving to take the set.

In the second set, the Penmen held a 7-4 advantage, but it slipped away as the Crimson and Grey rallied with Klusendorf serving to take an 11-7 lead. SNHU used a 10-2 scoring binge to regain the lead at 17-13 midway through the set. The teams traded serves late as a Kathleen Schurman service ace made it 24-21 which put the Penmen on the brink of a second set victory. As they did in the first set with Carias serving, the Ravens closed the second stanza strong with five unanswered points to complete to comeback 26-24.

The final set saw the Ravens jump out to an early 4-1 lead before the hosts racked up four straight points to regain a 5-4 lead. The conference foes sparred midway into the set as a FPU attack error tied the contest at 16 all. As they did in the first two sets, the Ravens rallied and outscored the hosts 9-3 to win the final set 25-19.

The Ravens return to the court on Friday for their second match of a four game road trip against Bridgeport at 7:00 p.m.

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 cross country apparel can do so at the Department of Athletics' online store (http://athletics.franklinpierce.edu/store).