WESTMINSTER, Md. – Franklin & Marshall's volleyball team opened up Centennial Conference (CC) play with a thrilling 3-0 defeat of McDaniel at Westminster, Md. on Wednesday night.  The win brings the Diplomats record to 6-7 (1-0 CC) on the season and drops the Green Terror to 4-8 (0-2 CC).

The opening set of the match saw four lead changes, as F&M exchanged points with McDaniel until an errant return by the Green Terror sailed out of bounds to give the Diplomats the 22-21 lead.  Candice Tussing sealed the first-set win (25-22) with a powerful kill to put F&M up 1-0.

The Diplomats were in danger of dropping the second set when the Green Terror went on an 11-0 run to put them ahead 14-6.  F&M came storming back, winning 20 of the final 30 points in the set, eventually tying the second frame 24-24 on a Katie Foreman kill.  The Diplomats took the next two points to cap off the dramatic comeback with a 26-24 set win and go ahead 2-0 in the match.

F&M took the lead early in the third set and never relinquished it, winning 25-20 to sweep the match 3-0.

Tussing led the way offensively for the Diplomats, recording 11 kills, while Kerry Rom added nine. Caitlin Krutsick was solid from the serve position, registering four aces, while Alyssa Sanchez paced the defense with 13 digs.

F&M returns to the court this Friday to participate in the Juniata Invitational with matches against FDU-Florham at 6:00 p.m. and Carnegie Mellon at 8:00 p.m.  The tournament concludes on Saturday with matchups against Juniata and Salisbury.

F&M def. McDaniel 25-22,26-24,25-20

F&M (6-7, 1-0 CC) (Kills-aces-blocks) - Candice Tussing 11-1-1; Kerry Rom 9-0-0; Katie Foreman 8-1-1; Sydney Seydel 7-0-2; Rosalie Frank 7-0-0; Caroline Hubbard 3-2-1; Caitlin Krutsick 1-4-0; Alyssa Sanchez 0-2-0; Totals 46-10-3.0. (Assists) - Caroline Hubbard 25. (Dig leaders) - Alyssa Sanchez 13; Caroline Hubbard 9

McDaniel (4-8, 0-2 CC) (Kills-aces-blocks) - Anne McShea 11-4-0; Kloe Martin 7-0-1; Melissa Weldon 5-0-1; Colette Kellen 2-0-0; Hannah Krobock 2-0-2; Bryanna Smith 1-2-2; Amy Kolence 0-1-0; Julia Wainwright 0-1-0; Totals 28-8-3.0. (Assists) - Colette Kellen 21. (Dig leaders) - Kloe Martin 13; Anne McShea 8