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Franklin & Marshall College

FRANKLIN & MARSHALL COLLEGE
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Haverford HAV 9-5,0-1 Centennial
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Winner Franklin & Marshall FMC 13-3,1-0 Centennial
Haverford HAV
9-5,0-1 Centennial
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Final
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Franklin & Marshall FMC
13-3,1-0 Centennial
Winner
Set Scores
Team 1 2 3 4 F
Haverford HAV 25 17 27 14 (1)
Franklin & Marshall FMC 17 25 29 25 (3)

Game Recap: Volleyball |

(RV) Volleyball Begins Centennial Action with Win Over Haverford

LANCASTER, Pa.- The (RV) Franklin & Marshall volleyball (13-3, 1-0 Centennial Conference) team began the ten-match Centennial Conference slate with a four-set win (17-25, 25-17, 29-27, 25-14) over visiting Haverford (9-5, 0-1 Centennial Conference) on Saturday afternoon.

Ceci Connolly recorded a career-best 18 kills with a .457 hitting percentage and five digs to lead the Diplomats' offense. Avery Grantham posted 12 kills with a .525 hitting percentage while Melissa Benkowitz recorded double figures with ten kills alongside a team-best 18 digs and three aces. Abby Silinski had 15 digs and five aces as the team's libero. Liah Perez and Emily Dean split setting duties, as Perez provided 22 assists, ten digs, and two aces. Dean assisted 16 times with three aces and five digs. Mya Anderson led the front-row defense with one solo block and three block assists with five digs and two kills. Lily Harmon posted three aces, while Coco Shultz totaled eight kills, eight digs, and two aces.

The Fords had zero attack errors while hitting .306 in their 25-17 set-one win. A Perez service ace started the match, but the Fords soon broke free with a 5-0 run to lead, 6-2. The Diplomats closed back within a point with a 4-1 run with kills from Paula Elguera, Benkowitz, Connolly, and Grantham, but the Fords fought off the rally with a three-point run in response to lead, 10-6. Their lead went as high as 16-9 before entering the late stages with a 19-13 lead. F&M closed the lead to three with three-straight points on kills from Connolly and Shultz with a Harmon ace. The teams traded serves one time before Haverford closed out the set on five-unanswered points. 

F&M's offense swung a match-best .324 in a 25-17 set two. The Diplomats began set two with the first three points, but Haverford countered with three points of their own. This was followed by another three points from F&M for a 6-3 lead. They maintained this lead to 9-5, but Haverford swung momentum their way with a five-point run that featured two blocks and two kills to lead the set for the first time at 10-9. This was followed by three-point runs from each team, as F&M's short-lived 12-10 lead soon became a 13-12 Fords advantage. Kills from Grantham and Shultz put F&M up 14-13 to set up a sequence of the teams trading serves up to a 16-16 tie. At this point F&M closed out the set on a 9-1 run with two Dean aces, two kills apiece from Grantham and Benkowitz, a Shultz-Anderson block, and a solo Anderson block on set point.

The Diplomats fought off two match points in the third set before eventually winning a key third set at 29-27. After a 2-0 start for F&M, Haverford countered with two points of their own. This was followed by the teams trading points up to an 8-8 tie. At this point, a Grantham point was followed by five-straight points for the Fords, as F&M trailed, 13-9. The Diplomats stormed back with a 9-1 run that featured two kills from Connolly and two aces from Harmon. F&M maintained this 18-14 lead up with 22-18. The Fords scored five of the next six points, tying the set at 23-23. F&M took the lead on a service error, and Haverford posted back-to-back kills to reach set point. A Connolly kill kept the set alive, but the Fords again reached set point at 26-25. This time, F&M made use of two attack errors from Haverford for their chance to win the set, but Haverford tied things up at 27-each on a block. The Diplomats confirmed the third set on a kill from Grantham and ace from Benkowitz to close in on their first win of the Centennial Conference campaign. 

F&M began set four with a 5-2 lead thanks to two kills and two aces. Haverford took the next point before the Diplomats pulled away with five-straight points, including two Benkowitz aces. The Fords stayed alive with a four-point run of their own, but the Diplomats took control for good with a 7-1 run to reach a 17-8 advantage. F&M eventually won the set at 25-14 on a kill from Anderson. 

The Diplomats travel to McDaniel for their second Centennial Conference game on Wednesday, October 8, at 7:00 p.m.
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