BALTIMORE, Md. - In a tri-match hosted by No. 9 Johns Hopkins, the Franklin & Marshall Volleyball team fell to the nationally ranked Blue Jays before defeating Shenandoah to end the regular season. The Diplomats are now the number three seed heading into the Centennial Conference tournament. 

MATCH 1 - JOHNS HOPKINS
Opening the day against the Blue Jays, F&M got out to a 5-2 lead in the first set before falling behind, 6-5 after four straight Johns Hopkins points. With the Diplomats later leading 9-8, F&M used a 9-2 run, including five straight points, to increase its advantage to 18-10. However, the Blue Jays stormed back by winning the next nine rallies to take a 19-18 edge. Facing game point just moments later at 24-23, the Diplomats won three straight points for a 26-24 set win. 

The second frame saw just two lead changes, as Johns Hopkins led the entire way after taking a 2-1 advantage. With F&M within two at 13-11, the Blue Jays gained breathing room with. by winning four of the next five points. F&M managed to rally back to within two, however, trailing 20-18, but Johns Hopkins ended the set by winning the final five rallies. 

After the Diplomats started the third stanza with an 8-5 lead, the Blue Jays scored four consecutive points and did not look back. Though F&M evened the score at 12-12, a 6-1 run by Johns Hopkins put the Blue Jays up by five. The Diplomats then won back-to-back points, but Johns Hopkins won four of the next five rallies immediately after. The Blue Jays eventually closed out the set by winning 25-19 to take a two sets to one lead. 

F&M failed to lead at any point in the fourth game, as Johns Hopkins quickly got out to a 4-0 advantage. The Diplomats did manage to close the gap to two at 11-9, but a 5-1 Blue Jays run kept F&M at arm's length. After the two teams traded points over the next five rallies, Johns Hopkins clinched the match by winning the final seven points of the frame.

MATCH 2 - SHENANDOAH
In their second contest of the day, the Diplomats took a 6-4 lead in the opening game before increasing it to 14-5 following eight straight points. F&M continued to add on, using an 8-2 run to widen the gap to 22-8. The Diplomats then closed out the set, winning 25-11.

Though the next game was more closely contested, F&M stayed in front for nearly the entirety of the frame. Tied 3-3, F&M scored six unanswered to go up 9-3. However, the Hornets chipped away at the deficit and eventually evened the score at 11-11. Just moments later, Shenandoah took its first lead of the stanza at 13-12, but it was short lived, as a 4-1 run by the Diplomats kept F&M in front the rest of the way. Later up 23-22, the Diplomats won back-to-back points to claim the set.

F&M never trailed in the final frame, taking a 5-2 edge to start the game. After the lead was trimmed to one at 6-5, the Diplomats responded by winning six of the next eight points. Later up 13-10, F&M went on a 7-2 run to open up an eight point advantage. Coco Shultz would go on to end the match with a serving ace, as F&M closed out its 13th sweep of the season. 

Between the two matches, both Gianna Mangiamele and Sydney Levins registered 20 kills. Liah Perez recorded 16 assists in each tilt for 32 in total.

The Diplomats will now host Muhlenberg in the opening round of the Centennial Conference tournament on Wednesday, November 8 at 7 p.m.