NEW HAVEN, Conn. – The Southern Connecticut volleyball team defeated Franklin Pierce University, 3-2, at Pelz Gymnasium. The Owls moved to 13-8 overall and 2-3 in the Northeast 10, while the Ravens moved to 6-8 overall and 1-3 in the NE10.

Set Scores
Set 1: FPU 25, SCS 17
Set 2: SCS 25, FPU 20
Set 3: FPU 25, SCS 23
Set 4: SCS 25, FPU 22
Set 5: SCS 15, FPU 12

Match Leaders
Payton Reis (Royal Palm Beach, Fla.) led the attack for Southern Connecticut with 16 kills and added three blocks on defense. Heliceliz Rivera (Corozal, Puerto Rico) was firing on all cylinders. Rivera picked up 21 assists, 11 kills, nine digs, and two blocks. Sara Enright (Yorba Linda, Calif.) had 11 kills and 15 digs, while Gabriela Gaibur (Monroe, N.Y.) recorded 15 digs and nine kills. Taylor Jones had a solid night in the setter position with 28 assists and seven digs. Libero Aubrey Villena (San Diego, Calif.) notched 22 digs and five assists.

How It Happened

• The match started extremely tight as both sides tugged at the lead. At 15-15, Franklin Pierce broke free with a 8-1 run that saw them take a 23-16 lead. The Ravens went on to close it out and win it by eight.
• Southern jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the second set, but Franklin Pierce managed to claw their way back in. At 5-4, the Owls used an 8-3 push to take a seven-point lead (13-6). The Ravens slowly made their way back in the set, coming as close as three points of the Owls' lead on multiple occasions, but Southern's momentum was too great and the Owls went on to take set two by five points.
• Set three was a footrace from the beginning until the very end. Neither team led by more than three with Franklin Pierce taking the first lead of the game before Southern held tight until the latter half. At 20-18, the Ravens powered forward with four of the next six points that gave them their first lead since the beginning of the set, 22-21. Franklin Pierce powered through and completed the comeback win in set two by two.
• In familiar fashion, set four got off to similar starts to that of the first and third sets: tight. Franklin Pierce found itself on the receiving end of a lead early on, but Southern found its way back in it to tie it at 11 all. The Ravens continued to press with four-straight points and took the lead once again. The Owls found their way back in it with a 6-2 stretch that powered them to a one-point lead, 22-21.  Southern snagged three of the last four points to complete its own comeback and force a fifth set.
• The Owls' momentum carried into the final set with a red-hot 7-0 start. The Ravens slowly closed the gap between them and the Owls, which forced Southern to take a time out with their lead dwindling, 13-11. Franklin Pierce grabbed the next point to come within one, but Reis buried a kill to put the Owls at match point. The Ravens had the serve and in transition Reis and Rivera knocked down a timely block to put the match to rest and send the Owls to victory.

 
Up Next
The Owls will host the University of New Haven on Saturday, Oct. 8 for a non-conference showing with the Chargers. Prior to the start of the game, the Southern Connecticut volleyball team with honors its senior class.