LANCASTER, Pa. – Franklin & Marshall's volleyball team swept Centennial Conference (CC) opponent Washington College 3-0 before dropping a 3-2 match against St. Mary's (Md.) on Saturday afternoon at the Mayser Center.  The Diplomats move to 15-13, 7-1 CC and remain atop the leader board of the conference.

Against Washington College, F&M battled to a 7-7 tie early in the first set.  After a return error into the net by the Shorewomen put F&M up by one, the Diplomats went on a 13-5 run to pull ahead 20-12.  The eight-point margin was more than enough as they cruised to a 25-17 win to go up 1-0 in the match.

The second set started out much like the first, with the two squads tied early on, 6-6.  A return error from Washington College sailed out of bounds, putting F&M up by one and Julie Harvey behind the line to serve.  The sophomore middle hitter led the Diplomats to a 7-0 run that was capped off with a pinpoint ace to make the score 13-6.  F&M cruised the rest of the set, capping the 25-12 victory with a kill from Elise Gilchrist to go up 2-0 in the match.

The Diplomats' offense was razor sharp in the third set, compiling 20 kills and only four errors.  In the frame, F&M recorded its highest kill percentage of the match at .410 on its way to a 25-20 victory to complete the sweep.

Overall, the Diplomats registered a .353 kill percentage with only 11 errors in the contest. 

Candice Tussing led the offense with 10 kills, while Caroline Hubbard added 39 assists.  Kerry Rom paced the defense with eight digs.

F&M faced off against St. Mary's (Md.) in non-conference action later in the day.  The Diplomats dominated the first set against the Seahawks taking the 1-0 lead with a 25-13 victory. St. Mary's (Md.) fought back in the second to tie the match 1-1 with a 25-18 win.  The Diplomats found themselves down 16-6 in the third set before a 13-3 run tied the game up 19-19.  The Seahawks won the next three points to take the 22-19 lead. F&M was unable to make another comeback, dropping the third set 25-23.

Down 2-1, the Diplomats got themselves back into the match with a 25-20 victory in the fourth to tie up the contest.  Jian Lipowcan sealed the victory with a powerful kill.

In the deciding fifth set, both squads traded points early on to bring the match to a 4-4 tie.  The Seahawks won four of the next five points to take the 8-5 advantage.  F&M came within two at 12-10, but was unable to tie up the set as St. Mary's (Md.) took the frame 15-11.  With the 3-2 loss, the Diplomats five match winning streak came to an end.

Sydney Seydel led with offense with 16 kills and zero errors for an outstanding .615 kill percentage.  Lipowcan paced the defense with 20 digs, while Rom added 18.

F&M takes to the road this Wednesday to face off against CC opponent Gettysburg.  The match is set to begin at 7:00 p.m.

F&M def. Washington College 25-17,25-12,25-20

Washington College (11-13, 3-5 CC) (Kills-aces-blocks) - Kristin Lee 7-1-0; Jess Daunoras 5-0-0; Jenny Lee 4-0-2; Andi Folker 3-1-1; Lauren White 1-0-0; Emily Hoyle 1-0-1; Kate Liccione 0-1-0; Totals 21-3-2.0 (Assists) - Lauren White 16. (Dig leaders) - Kristin Lee 10; KateLiccione 8

F&M (15-12, 7-1 CC) (Kills-aces-blocks) - Candice Tussing 10-2-2; Sydney Seydel 9-0-2; Julie Harvey 8-2-3; Rosalie Frank 8-0-1; Kerry Rom 5-1-1; Caroline Hubbard 2-0-1; Heather Letzkus 2-0-1; Elise Gilchrist 1-0-0; Caitlin Krutsick 1-0-0; Jian Lipowcan 0-1-0; Totals 46-6-6.0. (Assists) - Caroline Hubbard 39. (Dig leaders) - Kerry Rom 8; Candice Tussing 7

St. Mary's (Md.) def. F&M 13-25,25-18,25-22,20-25,15-11

St. Mary's (Md.) (16-7) (Kills-aces-blocks) - Mandy Goodspeed 15-0-5; Shelby Mullennix 14-0-3; Michelle Klima 8-0-4; Jenn Rindone 7-2-0; Cecilia Blanc 5-0-0; Karlee Vaillant 3-0-2; Grace Chao 2-0-0; Dani Thorne 0-1-0; Mollie Johnson 0-1-1; Totals 54-4-8.0. (Assists) – Dani Thorne 24; Grace Chao 20. (Dig leaders) - Cecilia Blanc 15; Bianca Livioco 14; Jenn Rindone 13

F&M (15-13) (Kills-aces-blocks) - Sydney Seydel 16-2-3; Candice Tussing 14-9-1; Elise Gilchrist 8-0-3; Kerry Rom 6-1-0; Heather Letzkus 5-0-1; Caitlin Krutsick 5-1-0; Jian Lipowcan 2-0-0; Totals 56-13-4.0. (Assists) - Caitlin Krutsick 42. (Dig leaders) – Jian Lipowcan 20; Kerry Rom 18; Candice Tussing 11; Elise Gilchrist 8