SWARTHMORE, Pa. - The Franklin & Marshall volleyball team (18-8, 8-2 CC) downed Swarthmore (17-8, 9-1 CC) 3-1 in the semifinal round of the Centennial Conference tournament Friday evening to advance to the CC Championship on Sunday. The Diplomats defeated the Garnet with game scores of 25-13, 25-17, and 27-25.

It is the first time that the Diplomats will make an appearance in the CC championship game since the 2019 season.

The Diplomats limited Swarthmore to a hitting percentage of .191, with Coco Shultz and Meredith Mangum each tallying 13 digs. F&M also racked up 13 services aces in the win, led by Mikayla Smith's match-high five.

Three Diplomats finished with double-digit kills with Gianna Mangiamele and Sydney Levins leading the way with 15 each. Shultz closely followed, racking up 11 kills in the victory. Mangiamele also had a match-high .609 hitting percentage in the contest.

F&M broke off a 9-1 run in the first set to gain its biggest margin of the game. Smith tallied three of her services aces during the run. Levins and Jada West also recorded kills in the span.

The Diplomats posted their best team hitting percentage of .538 in the second set. F&M got off to a 11-5 lead in the set, with kills coming from Mangiamele, Levins, and Makenna Penuel. Franklin & Marshall wrapped up the game by tallying seven of the last 10 points to win the second set.

Two Diplomats dished out double-digit assists as Liah Perez and Hannah McCarthy racked up 19 and 16 assists, respectively. Lauren Arnold also recorded a solo block in the victory.

Franklin & Marshall will travel to face Johns Hopkins in the CC Championship game on Sunday at 1:00 p.m. It is a rematch of the 2019 CC Championship game, where the Blue Jays came out on top, 3-0.