CHESTERTOWN, Md.- The (RV) Franklin & Marshall volleyball team (17-4, 5-1 Centennial Conference) efficiently earned a straight-set sweep (25-20, 25-10, 25-16) at Washington College (18-7, 4-3 Centennial Conference) on Saturday afternoon. 

Melissa Benkowitz led the Diplomats' offense with 14 kills with a .367 hitting percentage, while Ceci Connolly hit. 353 with seven. Liah Perez had another strong performance, posting a team-best four aces and 16 assists with seven digs. Carly Campbell recorded 13 assists, two aces, and five digs. Coco Shultz led the team with eight digs while hitting .333 with seven kills plus two aces.  Paula Elguera swung .600 with three kills and a team-best four blocks on three block assists and one solo block. Fellow middle blockers Mya Anderson and Avery Grantham were each efficient in attack, as Anderson hit .571 with five kills and Grantham hit .375 with four kills. 

The Diplomats began set one with a five-point run with two Anderson kills that earned them an early 7-2 advantage. The Shorewomen used a timeout but continued to fall behind, as F&M used a 7-1 run with two aces from Shultz and two kills from Benkowitz to extend their lead to 15-5. After trading serves up to an 18-7 scoreline, the Shorewomen kept their hopes of a set win alive with a five-point run, closing the gap to 18-12. F&M called a timeout near the end of this run and soon strung together five points in a six-point spell for a 23-13 lead. The Shorewomen scored five-straight points and fought off two set points before the set ended at 25-20 on a Washington service error. 

The F&M offense was at its best in the second set, as they hit .391 with just two attack errors. After a 3-0 start from the Diplomats, the Shorewomen tied things up at four-each with a 4-1 run. At this point, F&M pulled away with an 8-1 run riddled with Shorewomen errors that earned them a 12-5 advantage. Washington stalled the run for a few serves, but F&M ultimately ran away with an 11-point run up to set points that included three aces from Perez. Washington fought off set point three times before the set ended with a kill from Connolly. 

The F&M offense was just as effective in the third set, combining to hit .382 to wrap up the match. Yet again, the Shorewomen kept pace early, tying three-straight times up to 3-3 before the Diplomats earned a small lead with three-straight points that included two Shultz kills. The Shorewomen kept pace, closing within a point a few times before the Diplomats broke away for good via a seven-point run highlighted by two kills from Connolly for a 15-9 lead. F&M maintained this lead with a 9-6 run up a 24-15 set point, ending the match on a kill from Benkowitz at 25-16. 

The Diplomats are back in action when they host Ursinus on Wednesday, October 29, at 7:00 p.m.