Garcia hits .391, but Ravens hit .178 as a team

RINDGE, N.H. (October 2, 2013) – Freshman middle Aiden Garcia (Eagle Pass, Texas) hit .391 with 12 kills and senior middle Katie Jackson (Centennial, Colo.) added .385 with five kills on Wednesday night, but it would not be enough, as the rest of the Franklin Pierce University volleyball team hit just .101 in a 3-1 loss to Bentley in Northeast-10 Conference play at the Fieldhouse. Bentley hit .341 as a team, led by a .500 night from junior Savannah Dominguez, who piled up a match-best 16 kills in the victory.

With the loss, Franklin Pierce falls to 5-3 (0-3 Northeast-10), while Bentley improves to 10-4 (4-0 Northeast-10). Franklin Pierce took the first set, 27-25, but Bentley ran off set wins of 25-14, 25-14 and 25-22 to take the match. The Ravens were particularly outclassed in the third set, when they hit -.043 against Bentley's .414, and the fourth set, where they hit .091 against Bentley's .364.

With the match square at one set apiece, Bentley continued to apply pressure early in the third set. After Franklin Pierce took the first point of the set, Bentley rattled off the next eight, led by three kills from Dominguez. The Ravens never recovered, and could never get closer than five points over the remainder of the set. In the fourth, Franklin Pierce led as late as 16-15, but the Falcons came up with three straight points, capped by a kill from junior outside hitter Tatiana Froehlich, which forced a Franklin Pierce timeout at 18-16, Bentley. Out of the timeout, the Ravens did pick up the next two points to tie things at 18-18, but Bentley took four of the next five and ultimately went on to close out the match.

For Franklin Pierce, the errors piled up in all aspects of the game, particularly in the middle two sets. On the evening, the Ravens committed 24 attack errors to hit only .178, made nine service errors, were aced five times for five receiving errors, were whistled for four ball-handling errors and committed one blocking error. While Bentley had trouble with its service game and committed 10 service errors, the Falcons more than made up for it by committing just 10 attack errors over their 132 attempts.

For Franklin Pierce, Garcia was joined in double digits by senior right side Ashley Bruce (Hampton Falls, N.H.), who collected 10 kills. Junior outside hitter Catie Swiderski (Rocky Point, N.Y.) added nine more, but also committed five errors in 26 attempts to hit .154. The trio and the rest of the offense worked off the set of freshman Kelsey Hausman (Sandy, Utah), who dished out 37 assists, but also committed all four of the team's ball-handling errors. Senior setter Stephanie Svorinic (Scottsdale, Ariz.) saw her first action of the season, as she continues to rehab an early injury, and added four assists.

Defensively, senior libero Lauren Miller (Alexandria, Ind.) led the team with 19 digs, while sophomore outside hitter Sydni Schulz (Cypress, Texas) added 11 more. Sophomore defensive specialist Sarah MacHugh (Red Hook, N.Y.) picked up nine digs in limited action.

For Bentley, Dominguez was joined in double digits by Froehlich, who hit .324 with 13 kills against just one error in a team-high 37 attempts. The duo led four Bentley hitters who hit higher than .300 on the evening, as junior outside hitter Kaleigh Sullivan added .412 with nine kills in 17 attempts and junior middle Simone Silvera contributed .368 with nine kills over 19 swings. The Falcons ran the offense through junior Alex Tator, who dished out 45 assists (11.25 per set) and made only two ball-handling errors.

The Falcons shone defensively as well, particularly at the net, where they piled up 10 blocks as a team. Silvera figured in on five of them, while Dominguez was a part of four, including two solo efforts, to finish with a match-best 19 points on the day. On the backline, junior libero Lauren Colasanti led all players with 21 digs, and was joined in double digits by sophomore outside hitter Jaci Buscher, who had 10.

The Ravens return to the court on Tuesday, Oct. 8, when they travel to Saint Michael's for a Northeast-10 Conference contest. First serve is set for 7 p.m. at Ross Sports Center in Colchester, Vt. Franklin Pierce next plays at home on Tuesday, Oct. 22 against Merrimack 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). Fans wishing to purchase Franklin Pierce volleyball apparel can do so at the Department of Athletics' online store (http://athletics.franklinpierce.edu/store).