LANCASTER, Pa. – Swarthmore used victories in tightly contested third and fourth sets to defeat Franklin & Marshall 3-1 (25-19, 24-26, 26-24, 25-23) Wednesday night in Centennial Conference (CC) volleyball action. The loss took the Diplomats to 9-7 overall and 2-1 in the CC while the Garnet improved to 12-3 and 2-0 with the victory.

After Swarthmore took the opening set, F&M began the second determined to respond, taking an early 5-0 lead on the serve of Alyssa Sanchez. The Garnet used an 18-6 run to take control of the set at 18-11, but four kills in seven points from Barbara Kapustin pulled the Diplomats back to within two at 24-22. An Ellie Ezekiel kill nullified Swarthmore's first set point before more clutch serving from Sanchez gave F&M the set, 26-24.

The Diplomats notched 16 kills in the set, including seven coming from Kapustin as F&M pulled even at 1-1.

Swarthmore took control early in the third, using an early 5-0 run to lead by as much as six, 12-6. F&M managed to turn the tide and used a 17-10 run of its own, including back-to-back aces from Shae Murphy, to take a late 23-22 lead. However the Garnet had the last word, taking four of the last five points to win the set 26-24.

The fourth set was close as well, with neither team owning a lead of more than four at any point and the score remaining tied late on at 23-23. Swarthmore won two points on the serve of Sam DuBois to claim another tight set and the match, 25-23.

Kapustin paced F&M with a career-high 16 kills, and was closely followed by Ezekiel with 14.

Allison Edelstein reached the half-century mark in assists for the second time this season, logging an even 50 on the evening.

Ezekiel and Sanchez led the Diplomat defense with 32 digs each, while Edelstein pitched in 16.

F&M returns to action on Saturday, visiting the Owls of Bryn Mawr for a 2:00 p.m. CC matchup.