BABSON PARK, Mass. – Paced by a huge offensive night which saw the Diplomats hit .339, the Franklin & Marshall volleyball team handed a Babson squad that is receiving votes in the national polls its first loss of the season. The Diplomats improved to 4-1 with their latest victory.

Gianna Mangiamele led the offensive efforts with a .667 hitting percentage as she had 13 kills against just one error in 18 attempts. Coco Shultz ranked second on the team with a .345 hitting percentage. Ceci Connolly also reached double digits in kills and hit .500 for the match, while Avery Granthan swung at .500 clip with her five kills in 10 attempts.

Franklin & Marshall found itself facing a 1-0 deficit despite a valiant effort from the Diplomats as they trailed by just a single point at 23-22 and 24-23 during the opening game. The second set saw a huge service game from Liah Perez swing the momentum in F&M's favor as she stepped to the line and turned a 12-10 deficit into a 14-12 advantage during a set in which the Diplomats would not trail again, capped by a block from Mya Anderson and Mangiamele.

The third game was all Franklin & Marshall as another strong service performance from Perez got the Diplomats out to a 5-0 advantage and they would not trail again. The Diplomats largest lead of the set came on the final point as Rei Baker and Grantham combined for a block in the 25-14 final. F&M completed its victory in the fourth with a 25-18 win. Anderson stepped to the service line with the score tied at 13-all, but three straight points from her serve – highlighted by a pair of kills from Shultz – guaranteed that the Diplomats would never relinquish that lead.

In addition to her strong services, Perez paced the Diplomats with 21 assists while Carly Campbell added 16 more. Five different players recorded multiple service aces for F&M, with Shultz and Bella Ganfield both posting double figure dig totals. The Diplomats had their biggest blocking performance of the year with 13 on the night. Grantham had nine rejections by herself (three solo, six assisted) to pace those efforts as she was the fourth Diplomat to finish with a double-digit point total during the victory.

Volleyball's weekend in Massachusetts will continue on Saturday as the Diplomats wrap up their weekend up north with matches against Emerson (11 a.m.) and UMass Dartmouth (2 p.m.)