RINDGE, N.H. (September 12, 2018) – The Franklin Pierce University volleyball program began Northeast-10 Conference play with a 3-1 (25-20, 20-25, 11-25, 17-25) setback to Bentley University Wednesday evening in The Fieldhouse. With the win, the Falcons up their mark to 5-6, 1-0 NE10 while the Ravens drop to 0-1 in league play.

The Ravens trailed 11-2 early in the first set and came within 13-10 following a service ace from junior middle blocker Abigail Garnhart (Colorado Springs, Colo.). Three consecutive Falcon attack errors and a Mary Pease (East Haddam, Conn.) kill brought the score to a deadlock at 18-18. Bentley attempted to cool the Raven momentum by calling their second timeout of the set. Their plan backfired as Brittney Carias (Burlingame, Calif.) took service and targeted the back end line. The senior defensive specialist notched four straight aces to push the Ravens ahead 22-18. Garnhart and Pease teamed up for a dual block to put the Ravens a point away from a comeback win then Garnhart bashed the ball from the middle into the floor to give the Ravens a 25-20 set win.

In the second, set Marisa Lamb (Phoenix, Ariz.) faked a set and rocked the ball into the open spot on the floor to cut the Raven deficit to 8-7. Trailing 13-9, back-to-back Cierra Dolan (Ronkonkoma, N.Y.) kills and a Falcon attack error brought the Ravens within one again at 13-12. Four consecutive markers by Bentley moved them ahead by five 18-13. FPU brought the Falcon advantage back down to three, but they could not come any closer.

Bentley's hitting picked up in the final two sets as they converted .452 and .444 of their attack attempts. In the important third set, the Falcons staked ahead to a 10-4 lead before their lead grew to 11, 21-10 following a Krista Campbell ace. They won the set 25-11.

The Falcons wrapped up the match in a tightly contested fourth set which the Ravens led 11-9 via two consecutive Sarah Roach (Provo, Utah) kills. Bentley outscored the Ravens 16-6 to clinch the showdown.

Cierra Dolan tallied 13 kills for the Ravens and hit .333. Mary Pease added six kills, 34 assists, three digs, and two blocks. On the defensive end, Brittney Carias and Marisa Lamb recorded 18 digs each. The Falcons were led by Shannon Ngo who racked up a match-high 16 kills and a .600 hitting percentage.

The Ravens head out on the road Friday for two contests at Roberts Wesleyan College.

For more information on Franklin Pierce Athletics, please visit the official website of Franklin Pierce Athletics (http://fpuravens.com). 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 apparel can do so at the Department of Athletics' online store (http://fpuravens.com/store). You can also follow the volleyball program on Twitter (https://twitter.com/FPURavensVB) and Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/fpuravensvb/).