SWARTHMORE, Pa. - In a rematch of the 2022 Centennial Conference tournament semifinals, the Franklin & Marshall Volleyball team defeated Swarthmore in four sets on Wednesday night. 

The Diplomats never trailed in the opening game, jumping out to a 9-3 lead before growing the advantage to 17-10. After the Garnet rallied to get to within four at 22-18, F&M ended the frame by winning the next three rallies. 

Swarthmore then led for the entirety of the second set, going up 8-1 to begin, led by a 5-0 run. With the Garnet later up 16-12, Swarthmore won three straight points to increase the deficit back to seven. It then closed out the stanza with a 25-18 to even the score in sets. 

After back-and-forth action to begin the third frame, the Diplomats won six consecutive points with the score tied 11-11 to go up 17-11. The Garnet managed to close the gap to 18-15, but F&M responded by winning four of the next five points for a 23-16 advantage. The Diplomats then won the final two rallies of the game to clinch the set. 

In the most tightly contested frame of the night, Swarthmore got out to a 5-3 edge before F&M went on a 4-0 run and never looked back. With the lead down to one at 11-10, the Diplomats used a 5-1 run to keep the Garnet at arm's length. The gap was later reduced to two by Swarthmore at 19-17, but F&M won four of the next six rallied to go up 23-19. A kill by Gianna Mangiamele sealed the win for the Diplomats, who improved to 15-5 and 7-1 in the conference. 

After setting a career high just last week, Mangiamele matched it against the Garnet with 19 kills. Liah Perez provided 32 assists while Meredith Mangum and Coco Shultz each recorded 18 digs. 

F&M will now return home for a non-conference matchup against Messiah on Friday, October 27 at 7 p.m.