Jackson scorches 20 kills while hitting .357 over two matches
 Jackson hit .357 and piled up 20 kills over two matches on Friday at the Marauder Clash.
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MILLERSVILLE, Pa. (August 31, 2012) – Freshman middle Lina Kleinschmidt (Santa Barbara, Calif.) piled up nine kills and hit .316 in her second collegiate match, while junior outside hitter Natasha Ray (Colorado Springs, Colo.) posted an 11-kill, 12-dig double-double on Friday evening as the Franklin Pierce University volleyball team stunned five-time NCAA Regional champion Dowling, 3-1, in non-conference play on the first day of the Marauder Clash, hosted by Millersville. Earlier in the afternoon, junior middle Katie Jackson (Centennial, Colo.) hammered out 13 kills and hit .370 to lead the way in a 3-1 win over West Chester in the season opener.
With the wins, Franklin Pierce opens its season at 2-0 (0-0 Northeast-10). West Chester fell to 0-1 (0-0 Pennsylvania State) with its loss to the Ravens, while Dowling dropped to 1-1 (0-0 East Coast). Against West Chester, the Ravens won the first two sets, 25-23 and 25-19, dropped the third at 25-23, and finished out the match, 26-24, in the fourth. Set scores from the match against Dowling were unavailable at press time.
It is believed to be the first victory for the Ravens against Dowling since a 3-0 win in a match played at Bryant on Sept. 19, 1992, though records are incomplete prior to 1995. Franklin Pierce had been swept by the Golden Lions in the last five meetings between the two squads and had not taken a set off Dowling since a 3-1 loss in Rindge on Oct. 26, 1997. The Golden Lions have been a perennial power in the East Region, and collected five of six NCAA Regional titles from 2005 through 2010.
Against West Chester, Jackson led three Ravens in double figures with her 13 kills, as sophomore outside hitter Catie Swiderski (Rocky Point, N.Y.) put down 11 and Ray added 10, while Kleinschmidt just missed making it a quartet by contributing nine kills of her own and hitting .250. Junior setter Stephanie Svorinic (Scottsdale, Ariz.) had the offense firing on all cylinders, as she set up a plethora of scoring opportunities on her way to 51 assists. It marked the third time in her Ravens career she had recorded 50-plus assists, but the first time she had done so in a match of fewer than five sets. As a team, the Ravens chalked up eight aces from six different servers.
Defensively, junior libero Lauren Miller (Alexandria, Ind.) picked up right where she left off in 2011, when she finished third in the Northeast-10 in digs per set, as she chalked up 18 digs to lead the defensive effort. Ray added 14 to finish off her double-double, while Svorinic narrowly missed a double-double of her own with nine digs. Up front, Kleinschmidt proved strong in the middle, racking up a team-best three blocks, all of the solo variety.
Against Dowling, Ray led the offense in raw numbers with 11 kills, though she needed 39 swings to do so and wound up hitting .231. Instead, it would be Kleinschmidt and Jackson who would provide the most precise attack for the Ravens, as the former hit .316 with nine kills over 19 attempts and the latter hit .333 while chalking up seven kills over 15 swings. Over the course of the two matches, Jackson hit .357 with 20 kills.
Swiderski narrowly missed double digits as well, as she added nine kills. Svorinic dished out another 33 assists and Ray fired four service aces.
Defensively against the Golden Lions, Ray finished off her second double-double of the day with 12 digs, while Swiderski reached double figures as well with 10. Ray tallied two block solos at the net.
Stats for Dowling and West Chester were unavailable at press time. Full box scores will be added as they become available.
The Ravens will finish out the Marauder Clash on Saturday, Sept. 1 at Millersville. The team is scheduled to square off with St. Augustine's at 9 a.m. to finish off pool play, and will play at least one crossover match, opponent and time to be determined.
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).
