The Franklin Pierce University volleyball team ended the regular season with a 3-1 (17-25, 25-19, 28-26, 25-14) victory over Northeast-10 Conference foe Pace University on Senior Day Saturday in the Fieldhouse. The win, FPU’s sixth of their last seven games pushes them to 12-14, 8-6 NE-10.
Seniors Kelsey Hausman and Fabiola Garcon earned starts and were honored in a pregame ceremony for their contributions to the team, athletic department and the community.
The Ravens have reached the conference tournament for the fifth year in a row, but have failed to advance past the quarterfinal round since the 2005 season. Pierce earned the no. 6 seed and will travel to no. 3 New Haven on Tuesday evening for a 7:00 p.m. showdown. The Chargers have faced off against the Crimson and Grey the past two seasons in the Quarterfinals and have defeated the Ravens both times.
Leading the charge for the Crimson and Grey were middle hitters Abigail Sonuga and Hannah St. Jean who piled up 12 kills apiece. St. Jean hit .600 on the afternoon with a team-best four total blocks and Sonuga hit .345 while accumulating one stuff.
Katie Leidhold and Madison Klusendorf each recorded double digit kills and digs while teammate Hannah Runge dished out 43 assists in the Raven win.
In the final set, Pace held a 3-1 lead before the Ravens put the set away with a match clinching 8-1 run with Danielle Varricchio serving to take a 11-5 lead, an advantage they wouldn’t relinquish.