Kleinschmidt adds six kills, five aces, three blocks
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Swiderski recorded just one kill in the first set, but then hammered out 10 over the final two sets to lead the Ravens to the win.
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RINDGE, N.H. (September 13, 2012) – Sophomore outside hitter Catie Swiderski (Rocky Point, N.Y.) racked up a match-best 11 kills and hit .318 over 22 attacks on Thursday night to lead the Franklin Pierce University volleyball team to a 3-0 win in its home opener against Assumption in non-conference play at the Fieldhouse. Junior middle Katie Jackson (Centennial, Colo.) added seven kills against just one error to hit a match-best .500 over 12 swings.
With the win, Franklin Pierce improves to 4-5 (0-0 Northeast-10), while Assumption falls to 5-7 (0-1 Northeast-10). The Ravens swept to the victory by set scores of 25-11, 25-21 and 25-15. The two teams will meet for their Northeast-10 Conference match in the regular-season finale on Nov. 10 at Assumption.
With the first set already in the bag, Franklin Pierce found itself trailing, 18-12, deep in the third set. After a service error created a side out and made it 18-13, the Ravens ripped off four straight points on the serve of freshman defensive specialist Sarah MacHugh (Red Hook, N.Y.) to close the gap to 18-17. The spurt would wind up sparking a 13-3 run as Franklin Pierce stormed to the set victory, closing it out with four straight points on the serve of junior libero Lauren Miller (Alexandria, Ind.).
It would be a similar story in the third set, as the Ravens trailed early, 8-5. An attack error by Assumption turned the ball over and would start a 14-4 run that saw Franklin Pierce take control of the set, and effectively the match, with a 20-12 lead. Swiderski ran off four of her 11 kills during the spurt, as she cashed in 10 kills over sets two and three after recording just one in the opening stanza. It would again be Miller who finished off the set, as the Ravens put away the match with four straight points on her serve.
Swiderski was the only player in double digits offensively on the day, though junior outside hitter Natasha Ray (Colorado Springs, Colo.) joined Jackson at seven kills and hit .286 over 21 attempts. Franklin Pierce ran the offense through junior setter Stephanie Svorinic (Scottsdale, Ariz.), who finished with a match-best 31 assists and would add a pair of block assists for good measure. Though taking only 13 swings, freshman middle Lina Kleinschmidt (Santa Barbara, Calif.) hit .308 to finish with six kills and blasted out five aces from the endline along the way.
Defensively, Ray led all players with 16 digs, while Miller added 14 and MacHugh contributed nine more. Up front, the team recorded seven blocks; Kleinschmidt and Ray figured in on three each, with Ray recording two solo blocks.
For Assumption, which hit just .081 with 29 kills and 21 errors in 99 attempts, a trio of players finished at seven kills each to lead the way: junior outside hitter Lauren Ostafin, junior middle Ryan Merle and junior outside hitter Mary Johnston. The remainder of the Greyhounds' offense totaled just eight kills on the evening. Junior setter Kristin Flatekval quarterbacked the Assumption offense throughout the night and finished with 23 assists.
Defensively, the Greyhounds were led by Ostafin, who chalked up 13 digs, while senior libero Steph Whooten added eight more. At the net, Merle recorded three blocks (one solo).
The Ravens return to the court on Saturday, Sept. 15, when they remain home to host Post in a non-conference contest. First serve is set for 1 p.m. at the Fieldhouse.
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).
