Junior co-captain Nicole Buchholz posted a match-high .600 hitting percentage in Friday night's NE-10 Quarterfinal match against Pace.

Franklin Pierce falls in NE-10 Quarterfinals to Pace, 3-0
Feldmeth leads the Raven attack with nine kills

WALTHAM, Mass. (November 9, 2007) – The fourth-seeded Franklin Pierce University women’s volleyball team, ranked eighth in this week’s NCAA Div. II Northeast Regional poll, fell to fifth-seeded Pace University by a score of 3-0 (30-19, 30-25, 20-27) in the quarterfinals of the 2007 Northeast-10 Conference Tournament, held on Friday night at the Dana Center on the campus of Bentley College. 

With the win Pace (13-15, 9-5 NE-10) moves on to the semifinals of the tournament tomorrow at 2 p.m., where the team will face off with top-seed Bryant University (28-12, 14-0 NE-10), which defeated eight-seeded College of Saint Rose, 3-0, in an early quarterfinal match. Franklin Pierce (18-16, 10-4 NE-10) will wait to see if its season is prolonged by a bid to the 2007 NCAA Div. II Northeast Regional when the pairings are announced on Monday.

Pace freshman Korena Johnson (Friendswood, Texas/Clear Brook) led all players with 13 kills and added 10 digs and four service aces, while junior Danielle Furka (Massapequa, N.Y./Massapequa) added 11 kills for the Setters.

Sophomore Megan Feldmeth led the Ravens with nine kills on Friday night.

Sophomore Megan Feldmeth (South Pasadena, Calif./South Pasadena) led the Ravens with nine kills on the evening, while junior co-captain Nicole Buchholz (Ashburn, Va./Stone Bridge) added seven kills on a match-high .600 hitting percentage and two blocks. Fellow junior co-captain Karissa Hookstadt (Camarillo, Calif./Camarillo) recorded 35 assists for the Ravens in the three games.

The Setters came out strong in the first game, scoring 11 of the first 14 points to take a big lead, led by three kills from Johnson. The Ravens scored five consecutive points late to close the gap slightly, but Pace came back with seven in a row to cruise to the 30-19 win.

Pace used a similar tactic in the second game, as the Setters jumped out to a 16-5 lead. Franklin Pierce closed the gap to four by scoring 12 of the next 17 points, but three consecutive points by Pace did not allow the Ravens to get any closer in the game.

The third game was the closest of the match, as neither team could shake the other.  The Ravens scored four consecutive points to even the game at 23-all and the match moved to 25-all before Pace scored twice on Franklin Pierce attack errors. The Setters then scored three of the next five points to take the game and the match.

Pace University def. Franklin Pierce 30-19, 30-25, 30-27

 

Pace University (13-15) (Kills-aces-blocks) - Korena Johnson 13-4-1; Danielle Furka 11-0-3; Sianna Johnson 8-0-2; Rebecca DePaoli 7-0-3; Ashley D'Agostini 5-1-1; Victoria Pompilus 2-0-5; StephanieKazmierczak 0-3-0; Totals 46-8-8.0. (Assists) - Ashley D'Agostini 39. (Dig leaders) – Stephanie Kazmierczak 18; Korena Johnson 10; Jessica Anderson 9

 

Franklin Pierce (18-16) (Kills-aces-blocks) - Megan Feldmeth 9-0-0; Caitlynn Parnell 8-1-1; Katie Ristow 7-0-0; Nicole Buchholz 7-0-2; Michelle Koike 5-0-0; Emily Schultz 3-1-0; Karissa Hookstadt 2-0-1; Totals 41-2-2.0. (Assists) - Karissa Hookstadt 35. (Dig leaders) - Chelsie Kohout 17; Katie Ristow 13

MATCH STATISTICS