DALLAS, Pa.- The Franklin & Marshall volleyball wrapped up non-conference play by defeating Elizabethtown (25-9, 25-17, 25-14) and Misericordia (25-18, 25-22, 26-28, 25-14) in a tri-match on Saturday afternoon.
The Diplomats hit .349 in the sweep of Elizabethtown, including a .583 first set.
Gianna Mangiamele hit .450 with 12 kills, while
Coco Shultz (.467),
Ceci Connolly (.375), and
Avery Grantham (.250) each had nine kills.
Liah Perez averaged 11 assists per set (33 total).
Mikayla Smith had five aces, which she achieved in both matches in the tri-match.
F&M cruised in set one pushing out to a 9-1 lead thanks to two aces from Smith and two kills from Shultz. They held a gap of around ten points up to a 15-7 scoreline. From there, went 10-2 to the finish of the set, ending on a
Mya Anderson kill.
Another early lead in set two gave F&M a platform to coast to a set win. They led 8-1 thanks to three kills from Grantham and two from Shultz and roughly maintained this margin throughout the set. F&M led just 11-10 in set three, but they pulled away via a 9-2 run with two aces from Perez.
Mangiamele again led the Diplomat attack against Misericordia with 16 kills and a .303 hitting percentage. Connolly hit .276 with 13 kills.
Bella Ganfield averaged 5 digs per set, totaling 20, and Smith marked her second match of the day with five aces. Perez had 39 assists across the four sets.
F&M led 9-3 early and set one with the lead slowly dwindling to a tied set at 15-15. The Diplomats took four of the next five points, and soon went on a 5-0 run to reach match point at 24-17. The set ending two serves later on a setting error.
F&M held a consistent lead in set two leading 8-3 and soon 14-9 thanks to a 5-1 run. Misericordia closed the margin down 20-18 before F&M took the next three points. F&M reached set point at 24-20 and Cougars fought back by taking the next two points before a Mangiamele kill closed the set.
F&M broke an early deadlock with a four-point run to go ahead 10-7 in set three. The Cougars stayed within fighting distance in the middle of the set, launching into the lead with a four-point run to go ahead 20-19. F&M took the next two points, followed by Misericordia doing the same. The teams traded points, with F&M reaching set point at 24-23. The teams traded kills a few times before the Cougars strung together three straight kills to earn set three 28-26.
F&M led just 7-6 to start set four, but they earned the next four points. A 5-1 run in the middle stages with two Connolly kills put F&M in control 19-11. They ended the set on a 6-1 stretch that featured two smith kills, and Grantham had the match-point kill.
The Diplomats travel to McDaniel this Wednesday, November 6, at 7:00 p.m.
