RINDGE, N.H. (August 25, 2018) – Franklin Pierce University volleyball junior middle blocker Abigail Garnhart (Colorado Springs, Colo.) was selected to the All-Tournament Team as the Ravens ended the inaugural Raven First Serve Invitational with two 3-0 losses to Grand Valley State (15-25, 16-25, 19-25) and the University of California – Pennsylvania (19-25, 13-25, 12-25) Saturday afternoon in the Fieldhouse.  

Garnhart ranked second on the Ravens with 14 total kills over the course of the four weekend showdowns. She added four digs on the defensive end, three service aces and two total blocks.

Game One: Lakers 3, Ravens 0 (15-25, 16-25, 19-25)

The duo of outside hitters Sarah Roach (Provo, Utah) and Cierra Dolan (Ronkonkoma, N.Y.) paced the Crimson and Grey with a game-high nine kills each. Making her first appearance of the season, Roach hit .250 and tallied a team-high 10 digs in the contest. Freshman Lauren Herrera (Simi Valley, Calif.) handed out 14 assists in the match.

Grand Valley was led by a balanced offensive attack with eight players recording three kills or more. Senior middle blocker Staci Brower tacked on a team-best seven kills and hit .400. Ashlyn Kartes and Kendall Yerkes were active on the defensive end with eight digs.

The Lakers opened the showdown with three in a row to begin the contest. A Roach kill cut the deficit to 5-2 in favor of the away squad. A 5-1 scoring binge by Grand Valley State moved them ahead 10-3 on the strength of a Raven attack error. Back-to-back bad sets by the Ravens increased the Grand Valley lead to 19-10 in the late stages of the set as they eventually won 25-15.

In the second set, Grand Valley started fast leading 8-0 following numerous serves. FPU battled back to cut their deficit to three, 10-7 as Dolan successfully killed off an attempt assisted by Herrera. The Lakers edge increased to nine, 21-12 via a Raven attack error before they completed the second set 25-16.

Another Dolan kill in the beginning of set number three made the score 5-3 until the Lakers brought home the win at 25-19.

Game Two: Vulcans 3, Ravens 0 (19-25, 13-25, 22-25)

The Ravens offense was balanced in game two as Dolan tallied a team-high five kills to go along with a game-best four blocks. Jocelyn Moody (Biddeford, Maine) killed four attack attempts and led the defensive side with 10 digs. For the Vulcans, Sarah Moehring recorded 10 kills and 10 digs.

Franklin Pierce led midway through the first set as a dual block by Abigail Garnhart and Dolan gave FPU a 4-3 lead. Pierce advanced their showing to 9-6 as Herrera successfully set up Dolan for a kill. The Raven lead held strong at 13-11 before a 7-2 Vulcan scoring binge pushed the guests in the driver's seat at 18-15. California (Pa.) outdueled the Ravens over the remaining few sets to capture set one.

In the second set, California (Pa.) leaped to a 6-0 advantage. The Ravens crawled back within two, 10-8 following two kills from Mary Pease (East Haddam, Conn.). A 9-1 Vulcan scoring spurt jumped their score to 19-9 as they stayed the course for a 25-13 second set victory.

Set number three had the Ravens tied with the guests at 6-6 before eight consecutive markers by California (Pa.) moved them in front at 14-6 and give them a lead they would never relinquish.

Franklin Pierce will look to capture their first win of the year next week at Ramfest 2018 hosted by West Chester University.

Raven First Serve Invitational All-Tournament Teams

First Team

Sr. MB #21 Staci Brower – Grand Valley State
So. OH #11 Katie McKiel – Tampa
Sr. RS #11 Lois van Schaik – California (Pa.)
So. OS/RS #11 Lauren Kloos – LIU Post
Jr. RS #7 Annie Deininger – Texas A&M International
Jr. RS #7 Mallory Nowicki – New Haven

Second Team

So. OH #9 Sorrel Houghton – Tampa
Fr. OH #15 Abby Graham – Grand Valley State
Fr. OH #12 Ruby Fera – New Haven
Fr. S #8 Sarah Benson – California (Pa.)
So. OH #4 Mandy Behiels – Wilmington (Del.)
Jr. MB #1 Abigail Garnhart – Franklin Pierce

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 volleyball apparel can do so at the Department of Athletics' online store (http://athletics.franklinpierce.edu/store). You can also follow the volleyball program on Twitter (https://twitter.com/FPURavensVB) and Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/fpuravensvb/).