Box Score LANCASTER, Pa.- The second-seeded Franklin & Marshall volleyball team (22-5, 9-1 Centennial Conference) earned a four-set win (17-25, 25-18, 25-20, 25-22) over visiting third-seeded Haverford (19-9, 7-3 Centennial Conference) in the Centennial Conference Tournament Semifinals, advancing to Sunday's Championship match at No. 9 Johns Hopkins. 

Melissa Benkowitz posted a career-best 20 kills with a .273 hitting percentage with eight digs. Coco Shultz recorded 17 digs, 13 kills, and three aces. Avery Grantham hit .450 with 12 kills, while Ceci Connolly swung .379 with 12 kills and four block assists. Liah Perez assisted 28 times with three aces and 12 digs, while Carly Campbell recorded 23 assists with 12 digs. Abby Silinski led the defense with 18 digs. Claire Kelly recorded four block assists while hitting .429 with three kills. 

F&M's offense was kept to a .000 hitting percentage with 11 attack errors in the first set as they fell, 17-25, to open the match. The teams traded serves up to a 4-4 tie to open the match, while the Fords scored four of the next five points to lead, 8-5. F&M claimed their first lead of the night with a 5-1 run following this that included two aces from Perez. With F&M leading 11-10, the Fords pulled away with an eight-point run that included three Diplomats attack errors, two aces, and three kills, putting their reclaimed lead at 18-11. The teams traded points to the end of the set, with the Fords winning at 25-17.

The Diplomats recovered from the opening set by hitting a match-best .516 a 25-18 second set to tie things up. The Fords opened the game with the first two points, but this was followed by a 3-0 run from F&M. The teams traded serves once before Haverford regained momentum with a 5-1 run, giving them an 8-5 advantage. F&M reversed momentum, going on a 8-3 run that featured two aces from Silinski for a 13-11 lead. F&M maintained this modest lead entering the end of the set with a 21-18 advantage. At this point, F&M scored four unanswered to win the set, closing the second game with a block from Connolly and Kelly. 

The sides spared to open set three, with F&M gaining an early 5-3 advantage thanks to a three-point run. This was directly followed by a 6-1 stretch from the Fords who now led 9-6. They pushed their lead to a further 15-10 before F&M countered with seven of the next eight points, giving the hosts a 17-16 lead. Tied at 18-18, Benkowitz delivered back-to-back kills followed by a Perez ace. Haverford scored two points to reduce the lead to 21-20, but F&M closed yet another set with a four-point run. Benkowitz had an ace and kill in this run, while Connolly posted a kill and a block assist.

The teams began set four by tying five consecutive times before the Diplomats took full momentum with a 6-0 run that included three aces and a kill from Shultz for an 11-5 lead. The Fords cut into the lead with a 6-3 run that put F&M's lead at 14-11. F&M followed this with six of the next seven points, including three more kills from Shultz, getting them five points from a Championship berth at 20-12. Facing elimination, the Fords rallied back, closing the lead to 21-17 with a 5-1 run before F&M reached set points at 24-20. Haverford fought off two set points before Connolly secured F&M's place in the Championship match with a kill. 

The Diplomats will face No. 9 Johns Hopkins in the Centennial Conference Tournament Championship on Sunday, November 16, at 1:00 p.m.  A preview of Sunday's match will be released on Saturday.