EASTON, MASS. (October 1, 2022)- The Stonehill College women's volleyball team home stand continued against a familiar foe, Franklin Pierce University where the squad fell, 3-1 Saturday afternoon.

Mia Berardino led the offense with 12 kills and it marked her third match with 10 or more kills including three of her last four. Delaney Mihelich had yet another 25-plus assist match as the freshman finished with 27 assists. Mihelich has now finished with 25-plus assists in her last three out of her last four matches. Defensively, Skylar Hanley led the squad with 10 digs which marked her fourth 10-plus dig game on the 2022 season. 

The first set saw back and forth action and after Franklin Pierce cut the Stonehill lead to one (7-6), the Skyhawks utilized a 9-2 run to double up the Ravens, 16-8. In that spurt, Lindsey Peirson led the offense with two kills and Mihelich chipped in a service ace. Franklin Pierce tried to slow down the Stonehill offense when they cut their deficit to 20-15, but that's as close as Franklin Pierce would get as Stonehill wrapped up the first set with a 5-3 push (25-18). Hanley helped Stonehill grab the opening set victory with her third kill of the frame.

Set number two saw Franklin Pierce jump out to an early 8-2 advantage but knocked the deficit down to five (10-5) thanks to a Peirson kill. However, Franklin Pierce would go on a 6-1 run to grab their largest lead of the set, 16-6. Despite Franklin Pierce's strong offensive play, the Skyhawks cut the large deficit to as low as four (22-18) with a 12-4 rally spearheaded by kills from Lauren McCloskey, Berardino, Peirson, and Hanley. Although the purple and white pulled within single digits, the Ravens took set two, 25-20. 

Stonehill opened up the third set with a big lead of their own by going up 6-2 after Hanley notched another kill. However, Franklin Pierce pushed back and evened things at 10 with an 8-4 run and then would retake the lead shortly after, 11-10. From there, both sides continued to battle back and forth, and after the Ravens went back up one (18-17), the Skyhawks tied the match yet again after capitalizing on a Franklin Pierce attack error. However, the Ravens wound up taking the third set, 25-19 thanks to a 7-2 spurt. 

As set four got underway, neither side would let the other pull ahead by more than three and while Franklin Pierce was up 6-3, Stonehill cut the Ravens lead back to one (10-9) after a kill from Mihelich. However, like the previous sets, as Stonehill got close, the Ravens would pull away and they ended up pushing their lead to six (19-13) behind a 9-4 run. Stonehill cut into the Ravens lead in half (21-18) highlighted by a 5-2 rally courtesy of two kills from McCloskey and Franklin Pierce attack errors. Despite a late Skyhawks push, the Ravens held off Stonehill's momentum with a 4-1 run to take the match, 25-19. 

Up Next

Stonehill will have some time off before resuming their five-game homestand with another non-conference matchup against the University of Albany on Thursday, October 6 at 7 p.m.

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