ASTON, Pa. – The Franklin & Marshall volleyball team closed out day one of the Knights Fall Classic at Neumann with a 3-1 loss to the host school before rebounding for a 3-0 sweep against Rowan on Friday evening in non-conference action.

The Diplomats' record now sits at 16-3 on the season, while the Knights improved to 12-9 with the win and the Owls dropped to 13-6 with the loss.

Against Neumann, F&M fell behind early with a 25-18 defeat in the opening set in which the Diplomats committed nine errors while recording seven kills on 36 attacks. A grueling second set saw F&M battle throughout, but the result remained the same when Neumann edged out the Diplomats with a 27-25 decision.

The third turned out in the Diplomats' favor with a 25-17 victory, putting F&M back in the match at 2-1. Offensively, the Diplomats put forth their best frame, recording 13 kills while only being charged with four errors.  However, in the decisive fourth set, the Knights outlasted F&M with a 25-22 victory to finish out the match.

Ellie Ezekiel continued her strong play on the season, registering her sixth double-double of the year after leading the team in kills with 15 and tacking on 10 digs. Julie Harvey (14) and Emily Gerard (10) also reached double-digit kills for F&M, while Caroline Hubbard was solid with 40 assists. Alyssa Sanchez contributed with 20 digs, followed by Mary Leneweaver with 12.

The Diplomats jumped out to an early 1-0 lead against Rowan with a 25-17 win in the first. In the following frame, a convincing 25-15 victory gave F&M an imposing 2-0 lead. Capping off the sweep, the Diplomats once again dominated in the third with a 25-15 win to close out the contest.

F&M concludes play at the Knights Fall Classic tomorrow with a showdown against Catholic at noon, followed by a meeting with Richard Stockton at 4:00 p.m.