RINDGE, N.H. (November 12, 2016) – The Franklin Pierce University volleyball team ended the regular season with a 3-1 (17-25, 25-19, 28-26, 25-14) victory over Northeast-10 Conference foe Pace University on Senior Day Saturday in the Fieldhouse. The win, FPU's sixth of their last seven games pushes them to 12-14, 8-6 NE-10 and the loss sends the Setters to 22-8, 8-6 NE-10.

Seniors Kelsey Hausman (Sandy, Utah) and Fabiola Garcon (Brockton, Mass.)earned starts and were honored in a pregame ceremony for their contributions to the team, athletic department and the Franklin Pierce University community.

The Ravens have reached the conference tournament for the fifth year in a row, but have failed to advance past the quarterfinal round since the 2005 season. Pierce earned the no. 6 seed and will travel to no. 3 New Haven on Tuesday evening for a 7:00 p.m. showdown. The Chargers have faced off against the Crimson and Grey the past two seasons in the Quarterfinals and have defeated the Ravens both times.

Leading the charge for the Crimson and Grey were middle hitters Abigail Sonuga (Haverhill, Mass.) and Hannah St. Jean (Olympia, Wash.) who piled up 12 kills apiece. St. Jean hit .600 on the afternoon with a team-best four total blocks and Sonuga hit .345 while accumulating one stuff.

Katie Leidhold (Acushnet, Mass.) and Madison Klusendorf (Santa Maria, Calif.) each recorded double digit kills and digs while teammate Hannah Runge (Deltona, Fla.) dished out 43 assists in the Raven win.

The score was tied in the early portions of the first set, but the Setters gained a 9-7 lead after a Tatjana Calimpong-Burke block and kill on the next serve. After a Raven substitution, Pierce scored three straight with Runge serving to take a 12-11 advantage. The battle continued until Pace put the set away with three straight points coming on Raven miscues which gave the guests their only set of the match.

In the second stanza the Ravens were up by a four point margin 8-4 thanks to an attack error. Four consecutive from the guests closed the gap and knotted things at eight all. Point trading ensued before the Crimson and Grey rattled off a 5-1 scoring run with the final point of the binge coming off a Leidhold ace to take a 15-12 lead. A Haley Kain service ace brought Pace within one, but it was enough as the hosts put them away in set number two.

The Setters started off strong in the third set holding a 7-3 lead after a kill by Claudia Fontanet. FPU racked up four consecutive points, before Pace headed back in front 11-9 after a Kain kill. FPU changed the landscape of the contest with a game and momentum changing 9-2 scoring binge led by a huge double block from Runge and Sonuga as well as a thunderous kill from St. Jean and a Leidhold ace which forced a Setters timeout.

A Raven attack error brought Pace within one at 20-19 and a few possessions later with the Ravens sitting on match point at 24-22, they scored three in a row to force extra serves as they held a 25-24 lead. With the important third set on the line Tatjana Calimpong-Burke served the rock into the net which tied the contest at 25 all. Claudia Fontanet put her squad back in the lead with a kill to make it 26-25 and once again put Pace on the verge of a third set win. On the next possession, St. Jean gained the point back with a kill set up by Runge to regain the lead back to the Ravens. The Crimson and Grey won the set off a Setters attack error and held a 2-1 lead in the match.

In the final set, Pace held a 3-1 lead before the Ravens put the set away with a match clinching 8-1 run with Danielle Varricchio (Boynton Beach, Fla.) serving to take a 11-5 lead, an advantage they wouldn't relinquish.

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).