Miller racks up double-double with 19 kills, 15 digs

Box Score

MANCHESTER, N.H. (September 28, 2010) – Freshman outside hitter Lauren Miller (Alexandria, Ind.) hit .410 and piled up 19 kills to go with 15 digs to post her third career double-double on Tuesday night and the Franklin Pierce University volleyball team rallied from a 2-0 deficit, but ultimately fell, 3-2, at Southern New Hampshire in Northeast-10 Conference play at SNHU Fieldhouse. Freshman outside hitter Megan Lesczynski collected 10 kills and 17 digs to post a double-double for Southern New Hampshire.

With the loss, Franklin Pierce falls to 6-4 (0-3 Northeast-10), while Southern New Hampshire improves to 6-1 (2-0 Northeast-10). SNHU took the first two sets, 27-25 and 25-23, before Franklin Pierce rallied back with 25-23 and 25-16 victories in the third and fourth. Southern New Hampshire wrapped up the match with a 15-12 victory in the fifth set.

Miller committed just three errors over 39 attacks to go with her 19 kills to hit a match-best .410. Both her 19 kills and 15 digs were career highs. She added five aces and a block assist as well. Behind Miller, senior outside hitter Christina Calderon (Tombstone, Ariz.) chipped in 15 kills, while graduate student outside hitter Kelsey Painter (Glendale, Ariz.) added eight kills and hit .353 to go with two aces and nine digs. The offense ran through senior setter Pam Walker (Chino Hills, Calif.), who dished out a career-best 51 assists as the Ravens hit .216 on the evening.

Defensively, senior libero Chelsie Kohout (Harrison Township, Mich.) led all players with 21 digs, while freshman middle Ashley Bruce (Hampton Falls, N.H.) led the Ravens with three block assists.

For Southern New Hampshire, senior middle Stephanie Dluginski joined Lesczynski in double digits with 13 kills and hit .294. Junior middle Danielle Coffey (six kills) and sophomore setter Lauren Lorenz (five kills) were both efficient, as they hit .333 and .385 respectively, to help the Penmen to victory, despite hitting .147 as a team. Lorenz ran the offense all evening, to the tune of 37 assists, while freshman outside hitter Ashlee Daoust served up six aces.

Defensively Lesczynski's 17 digs led four Penmen in double digits, while Dluginski led all players with four blocks (two solo).

Franklin Pierce ran off the first four points of the match behind Miller's serve and led by as many as eight points (17-9) in the first set. However, SNHU rallied to tie at 24-24, before Daoust eventually came up with a kill to put the set away at 27-25.

After the teams traded 25-23 victories to give SNHU a 2-1 lead, the Ravens hit .281 to roll to a 25-16, fourth-set victory. The decisive fifth set was tied 10-10, before SNHU ran off five of the final seven points to take the 15-12 victory and win the match, 3-2.

The Ravens return to the court on Friday, Oct. 1, when they travel to New Haven for a Northeast-10 Conference contest. The match is scheduled for 7 p.m. at Charger Gymnasium in West Haven, Conn. Franklin Pierce next plays at home on Oct. 2 against Southern Connecticut State at 7 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).