HUNTINGDON, PA - Franklin & Marshall College middle blocker Liz Earll (Sr., New Freedom, PA/Susquehannock) tallied 12 kills and two solo blocks in six games as the Diplomats went 1-1 on the opening day of the 2004 Juniata Volleyball Invitational.

Versus the host Eagles, the Diplomats fell 3-0 (30-14, 30-14, 30-18) to Juniata as Earll finished with five kills and one solo block to lead the way.

Juniata raced out to a big lead in game one holding a 13-4 edge to cruise to a 16 point victory.

The Diplomats hung with Juniata in game two, staying as close as 17-12 midway through the game behind setter Jackie Skibbie (Jr., Darby, PA/Merion Mercy) who finished the match with 17 assists and three kills. However, Juniata began to pull away from that point, getting two quick kills from Allie Phillips to get the run started and take the game 30-14.

Game three was tight for much of the way, with Franklin and Marshall holding a lead at 16-15 behind 12 digs from libero Meghan Godorov (Jr., Orefield, PA/Parkland). The Eagles responded with a pair of service aces from Amy Ressler to take the lead back, then got a kill and a block down the stretch from Lindsey Habel to earn the win.

Libby Haas (So., Wrightsville, PA/Eastern) added four kills for Franklin & Marshall as the loss moved F&M's record to 3-8 all-time against Juniata.

In the second match of the tournament, the Diplomats dispatched Rutgers-Newark 3-0 (30-19, 30-18, 30-20) behind 12 kills and one solo block from Earll and 10 kills, one solo block and a block assist from Susan Taylor (Fr., The Woodlands, TX/John Cooper) in the first ever meeting between Franklin & Marshall and Rutgers in volleyball.

Rebecca Zeigler (Jr., Manchester, PA/Northeastern) added seven kills and six digs for the Diplomats, while Alexis Dansky (So., Yardley, PA/George School) tacked on five kills and an assist as Franklin & Marshall improved to 18-7, 7-1 in Centennial Conference play.

Franklin & Marshall will continue the season in the second day of the Juniata Tournament on October 23 versus Eastern and Carnegie Mellon.

F&M 14-14-18
Juniata 30-30-30

F&M 30-30-30
Rutgers-Newark 19-18-20