SCRANTON, Pa. – The Franklin & Marshall volleyball team split a pair of 3-0 matches on Friday during afternoon Scranton's tournament. The Diplomats opened their day with a loss against the host Royals (25-18, 25-21, 25-19), but were even more dominant when they turned the tables in their favor during a victory versus RIT (25-10, 25-13, 25-20).

During the opening match against Scranton, both defenses played tough as F&M limited the Royals to just a .145 hitting percentage thanks in large part to 66 digs. Three F&M players reached double figures in digs, lead by Meredith Mangum's 15. Coco Shultz and Hannah Pierce each totaled 11 digs during the opener.

Nevertheless, Scranton's defense was equally up to the test. Gianna Mangiamele and Sydney Levins led F&M with eight and seven kills, respectively. Franklin & Marshall had its chances as the Diplomats were tied at 18-all during the opening set before Scranton ran off seven consecutive points. The second and third sets were also close battles until the hosts came away with the late points.

The offense certainly picked up the intensity during the second match as the Diplomats hit .357 and .500 during the first two games to go up by a convincing 2-0 score. Levins hit .500 for the match with a team-high 10 kills and just two errors in 16 attempts. Mangiamele added eight more kills, while Shultz finished with six. After tallying 18 assists during the opening match, Hannah McCarthy once again led the team with 14 helpers during the RIT victory. Liah Perez added 12 more assists to aid the team's efforts. F&M was very strong at the net with eight blocks, including two solo efforts and two block assists from Mangiamele as she racked up a team-high 12 points.

During the opening set victory, F&M blitzed RIT early by racing out to a 12-2 lead before later scoring the final five points of the first game. The Diplomats were up 8-3 during the second set and were doubling up RIT for much of that game to go up 2-0. The third set was the tightest of the match, but the Diplomats still never trailed en route to their sixth victory of the season.

After taking part in only day one of Scranton's tournament, the Diplomats will finally have a chance to play in front of their home crowd tomorrow as they welcome Ursinus to the Mayser Center for a 1 p.m. first serve. That match will also serve as the Centennial Conference opener for both squads.