Women’s Volleyball Loses NE10 Decision to Franklin Pierce

COLCHESTER, Vt. – The Saint Michael’s College women’s volleyball team lost by a combined seven points during a 3-0 (25-22, 27-25, 25-23) loss to Franklin Pierce University on Tuesday evening in the Ross Sports Center. The Northeast-10 Conference match was the Purple Knights’ first home outing since Sept. 10.

RECORDS

• Saint Michael’s (1-15, 0-7 NE10), Franklin Pierce (7-9, 2-4 NE10)

SAINT MICHAEL’S LEADERS

• First-year Ella Patterson (Folsom, Calif./Vista Del Lago), 15 kills, 10 digs
• Junior Caitlin O’Connor (Bourne, Mass./Bourne), 11 kills in 2 sets
• Sophomore Alexandra Báez Rentas (San Juan, Puerto Rico/New Dimensions), 31 assists, 24 digs, 2 kills
• Senior Caroline Curley (Duxbury, Mass./Duxbury), 4 kills
• Senior Beth Syverson (Huntington, Vt./Mount Mansfield Union/Emmanuel [Mass.]), 3 kills
• Sophomore Syrah Wright (Richmond, Vt./Mount Mansfield Union), 9 digs, 6 assists
• Senior Maddie Van Winkle (Medford, Mass./Arlington Catholic), 8 digs
• Sophomore Aaliyah Huihui-Martinez (Salinas, Calif./Notre Dame), 7 digs

OPPONENT LEADERS

• Senior Mariah Robles, 13 kills .406 hitting
• Sophomore Avery Theriault, 8 kills, .538 hitting, 4 blocks
• Senior Ingrid Lindstrom, 8 kills, 4 blocks
• Senior Tessa Brandt, 8 kills, 9 digs
• First-year Annaka Lindstrom, 28 assists, 5 blocks
• Junior Morgan Schmutzler, 24 digs

MATCH FACTS

• The Purple Knights returned home for the first time since Sept. 10 after playing six straight on the road.
• Saint Michael’s held a 61-55 edge in digs.

THE ACTION

• Neither team led by more than three points in the opening set until Annaka Lindstrom and Theriault combined on a block that gave the Ravens an 11-7 edge, but a pair of errors allowed Saint Michael’s to creep within two. A 6-0 surge pushed Franklin Pierce into a 17-9 lead, and the hosts trailed 22-13 until using a 9-2 run to make it a 24-22 set, with first-year Dana Welch (Howell, N.J./Donovan Catholic) lending a kill and a block in that time. However, an error on the final point gave the visitors the 1-0 lead.
• A 4-0 run provided Franklin Pierce a 9-7 lead in the second set and, after O’Connor dropped consecutive kills immediately off the bench, another 4-0 run pushed the lead to 13-9. Saint Michael’s rallied to force a tie four times down the stretch, including while fending off three set points thanks to kills from O’Connor, Báez Rentas and Patterson. However, Robles’ kill made it 26-25, and an error produced the final point.
• The Purple and Gold led set No. 3, 11-9, on O’Connor’s kill…