RINDGE, N.H. (October 15, 2016) – The Franklin Pierce women's volleyball team was swept 3-0 (22-25, 22-25, 24-26) by Northeast-10 Conference opponent Stonehill College Saturday afternoon in The Fieldhouse. The loss, the Ravens fifth in a row, drops them to 5-11 and 1-3 in the conference while the Skyhawks improve to 8-9 and 3-3 in league play.

The Ravens hit better than their opponents (.194-to-.190) and held the advantage at the net with 13 total blocks to the Skyhawks four, but generated less offensive chances than their counterparts.

Abigail Sonuga (Haverhill, Mass.) hit .455 on the afternoon with a team-high 11 kills and five blocks. Katie Leidhold (Acushnet, Mass.) played strong defense coming up with 13 digs and two blocks while leading the squad with two service aces. Madison Klusendorf (Santa Maria, Calif.) added eight kills, six digs and two blocks.

Set one was a rollercoaster ride as both teams matched each other's scores. Katherine DeLanty put the Skyhawks up 6-3 in the early going with a kill that forced the Ravens to take a timeout.

After the stoppage, FPU used a 5-1 scoring run to go up 8-7 and made the guests use a timeout of their own. The teams continued to swap points as no squad held more than a two point advantage until a Raven attack error made it 23-20. A Taylor Stevens service ace put the Skyhawks up 24-20 and a few serves later Marykay Nasby took a set from Stevens to give Stonehill the first set victory.

The second set saw the Ravens jump out to an 8-5 lead thanks to two straight kills from Madison Klusendorf. Allyson Hughes knotted up the score at 12 apiece a few serves later. The two point advantage ensued until a bad set by Hannah Runge (Deltona, Fla.) increased Stonehill's lead to three, 19-16. The Ravens rallied with four consecutive points to take a one point 20-19 lead, but it was short lived as Stonehill came back and won the set 25-22.

FPU was up 7-4 in the third set before three straight points from Stonehill tied up the set. The Skyhawks took a 13-9 lead later on after a Raven attack error. Three straight points from FPU cut the Stonehill advantage to one. Stonehill brought their lead back up to four as they matched the Ravens three points with three of their own.

Pierce took a timeout and outscored the Skyhawks 6-1 over the next few possessions with Sonuga killing two sets from Runge in that span. The stoppage in play worked in the guests favor as they killed the Ravens momentum. Stonehill rallied for six straight points to take a commanding lead before the Ravens forced extra serves at 24 each. Stonehill got the last two points including the match clinching point from Allyson Hughes to compete the sweep.

Brittney Carias (Burlingame, Calif.) had nine digs, three assists and one service ace in the loss. Hannah St. Jean (Olympia, Wash.) added six kills, one block and one service ace while Hannah Runge dished out 29 assists in the conference setback.

The Ravens hope to stop their losing streak on Tuesday when they travel to Merrimack for a 7:00 p.m. match with the Warriors.

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).