ALBANY (October 21, 2016) – After a sweep of Merrimack on Tuesday, the Franklin Pierce volleyball team returned to action and was defeated by Northeast-10 Conference foe Saint Rose 3-0 (17-25, 22-25, 17-25) Friday night at the Daniel P. Nolan Gym. The loss dropped the Crimson and Grey to 6-12, 2-4 NE-10 and the Golden Knights improve to 8-10, 3-4 NE-10 with the victory.

Abigail Sonuga (Haverhill, Mass.) chipped in five kills, a .214 hitting percentage, and three total blocks. Team captain Hannah St. Jean (Olympia, Wash.) matched her teammate with five kills and added a game-high four blocks. Danielle Varricchio (Boynton Beach, Fla.) recorded four kills, 10 digs and three assists while Madison Klusendorf (Santa Maria, Calif.) had three kills, 12 digs, two blocks and one service ace.

Like previous contests FPU held the advantage in total blocks 13-7. However the squad was out hit by a .210-to-.036 margin.

In the first set the Ravens remained close in the beginning before the Golden Knights jumped out to an 11-7 lead after a Tina Ceriello service ace. The Crimson and Grey responded with a 6-2 run to knot up the score 13 all after a St. Rose attack error. The teams swapped points until a ball handing error by Cara Kullman made it 19-17 in favor of the hosts. The home team settled down and scored six straight points with Ceriello serving to take the set 25-17.

The second set was a close duel early on before St. Rose took a seven point, 18-11 lead thanks to a Rachel Salasky kill. FPU tallied three points and the Golden Knights matched which forced the Ravens to take a timeout down six, 20-14. The stoppage in play worked for the Crimson and Grey as a 5-1 scoring binge ensued. Madison Klusendorf nabbed a service ace and the Golden Knights gave four points away on attack errors to make it 21-19. Another attack error got the Ravens within one, 22-21, but St. Rose put the set away using a dual block and a Maryellen Devic kill.

FPU started off slow in the third set trailing 11-4. Five straight points for the Ravens cut their deficit to 12-9. Trailing by three points the Ravens hoped to snag control of the set and kept it close before St. Rose closed the book with five straight points to take a 23-13 lead. FPU added four straight of their own, but it wasn't enough as the Golden Knights took the set 25-17 and the match 3-0.

Abigail Garnhart (Colorado Springs, Colo.) had two kills, two digs and three blocks in the loss. Hannah Runge (Deltona, Fla.) handed out a team-best 17 assists and Brittney Carias (Burlingame, Calif.) racked up 10 digs.

The Ravens return wrap up their final road trip of the season tomorrow versus NE-10 foe Le Moyne at 1:00 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).