Freshman bangs 25 kills over two matches

PLEASANTVILLE, N.Y. (September 22, 2012) – Freshman outside hitter Madison Duffy (Bethel, Conn.) hammered out 17 kills and hit .371 on Saturday afternoon to lead the Franklin Pierce University volleyball team to a 3-2 win over Nova Southeastern in its finale at the Pace Tournament, hosted by Pace University, at Goldstein Fitness Center. Earlier in the day, the Ravens dropped a 3-1 decision to St. Mary's (Texas). Duffy had eight kills in that match, as she finished the day with 25.

With the split, Franklin Pierce is now 6-8 (0-0 Northeast-10). With the win, St. Mary's improves to 7-5 (2-2 Heartlands), while Nova Southeastern falls to 3-11 (0-1 Sunshine State). Against Saint Mary's, the Ravens fell, 25-21, 21-25, 25-16, 25-20, before downing Nova Southeastern, 25-17, 21-25, 19-25, 26-24, 15-13.

At the conclusion of the tournament, junior outside hitter Natasha Ray (Colorado Springs, Colo.) was named to the All-Tournament Team.

After rallying from a 17-13 deficit in the fourth set just to force the decisive fifth set against Nova Southeastern, the Ravens trailed 8-5 in the fifth. They ran off the next three points to tie the set at 8-8, and the teams would fire back and forth from there on out. Leading 14-12, Franklin Pierce committed an attack error on its first match point, but then won the match on a Nova Southeastern error on the ensuing point.

After Duffy's 17 kills on 35 attempts against the Sharks, freshman middle Lina Kleinschmidt (Santa Barbara, Calif.) added 11 more and hit .348 over 23 swings, while Ray and sophomore outside hitter Catie Swiderski (Rocky Point, N.Y.) each collected nine kills. The Ravens ran the offense through freshman setter Kellee Cranston (Reno, Nev.), who piled up 40 assists, the most in her young career.

Defensively, junior libero Lauren Miller (Alexandria, Ind.) led all players with 21 digs and led three Ravens in double digits, as Ray added 18 and Cranston picked up 15 to finish off her double-double. At the net, Kleinschmidt and Duffy recorded five blocks each.

For Nova Southeastern, junior outside hitter Samantha High led all players with 19 kills and hit a match-best .395 with just four errors over 38 attempts. She was joined in double figures by freshman outside hitter Sydney Cook, who contributed 14 kills. The duo, and the rest of the Sharks' offense, worked off the set of senior Jordan Pappas, who dished out a match-best 51 assists.

Defensively, four Sharks finished in double digits: senior defensive specialist Paige Boivin (20 digs), Pappas (15), freshman outside hitter Dana Holger (13) and sophomore defensive specialist Sarah Shifflett (12). Up front, freshman middle Caitlin Donahue led the way with four blocks (one solo).

Earlier in the day against St. Mary's, Ray led Franklin Pierce with 13 kills, while Swiderski picked up 10 and Kleinschmidt added nine more while hitting a match-high .500 over 18 errorless attempts. The Ravens split up setting duties in the day's first match, with junior Stephanie Svorinic (Scottsdale, Ariz.) collecting 22 assists and Cranston tallying 21.

Defensively, Miller picked up 20 digs to finish with 41 over nine sets on the day, while Ray recorded 19 to finish with a double-double. Junior middle Katie Jackson (Centennial, Colo.) asserted herself at the net against the Rattlers, recording a match-high five blocks (one solo).

For St. Mary's, sophomore outside hitter Kelsey Huber led all players with 19 kills, and freshman outside hitter Jenna Paul put down 13 against just one error over 28 attempts while hitting a team-best .429. St. Mary's worked the offense through senior setter Allie Murray, who handed out a match-high 40 assists. Sophomore defensive specialist Victorria Martinez served up five aces.

Martinez also led the Rattlers defensively with 16 digs. Meanwhile, both Murray (13) and Huber (11) finished off double-doubles. At the net, both sophomore right side Melissa Heft and freshman middle Lauren Holman contributed four block assists.

The Ravens return to the court on Tuesday, Sept. 25, when they return home to host Massachusetts Lowell in the Northeast-10 Conference opener. First serve is scheduled for 7 p.m. at the Fieldhouse in Rindge.

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).