LANCASTER, Pa.- Following last night's historic victory over (RV) Williams in the NCAA Tournament First Round, the Franklin & Marshall volleyball team (23-6, 9-1 Centennial Conference) faces regional hosts No. 9 MIT (28-3, 11-0 NEWMAC) in the Second Round on Friday, November 21, at 7:00 p.m.

Entering the Tonight's Match

With last night's four-set win (25-19, 25-20, 11-25, 25-20) over (RV) Williams, the Diplomats earned the program's first NCAA Tournament victory since 2000's Sweet 16 run, on a team that featured Mary Kate Salko '01 at setter. Ceci Connolly starred offensively, hitting .458 with 13 kills and three block assists, while Coco Shultz registered a team-best 11 digs with 11 kills. Melissa Benkowitz contributed a team-high three aces, ten kills and eight digs. Liah Perez assisted 25 times with two aces, while Carly Campbell registered 14 assists and seven digs. Mya Anderson led the front-row defense with four block assists. 

The Diplomats enter tonight's match following a 23-6, 9-1 Centennial Conference campaign to date  The Diplomats have earned 15 sweeps from their 23 victories, and the team's six losses have all come against ranked opponents. 

Entering the tournament, the team ranked highly across Division III in a few stat categories, ranking 13th in assists per set (12.55), 15th in kills per set (13.42), 19th in aces per set (2.88), and 32nd in hitting percentage (.227).

Mary Kate Salko '01 is in her fifth NCAA Tournament as head coach, and it marks the first time the program has appeared in back-to-back tournaments since the team's run of five consecutive appearances from 1996 through 2000, during which she was a setter for the Diplomats (1997-2000). Earlier this week, she was named the AVCA All-Region 5 Coach of the Year for the second time.

Players to Watch

All stats referenced are entering NCAA Tournament Weekend

Ceci Connolly's efficient attacking has earned the sophomore outside hitter a AVCA All-Region 5 First-Team selection. Among qualifying Centennial Conference attackers, she ranks fifth in hitting percentage (.309, second among outside hitters), seventh in kills per set (3.21), and seventh in points per set (3.53).

The 19th-best serving team in Division III is led by Leah Perez's 0.65 aces per set which leads the Centennial Conference and ranks 44th across Division III. The senior setter, who was named a three-time AVCA All-Region 5 Honorable Mention setter earlier this week, also ranks second in the conference in assists per set (5.80). Sophomore setter Carly Campbell has primarily shared setting responsibilities for the Diplomats, and she ranks fourth in the conference in assists per set (5.59). Junior defensive specialist Emily Dean has averaged the sixth-most aces per set (0.56 in the Centennial Conference). 

Coco Shultz has had an impressive senior season to date, becoming F&M's 11th player with 1,000 career points and digs en route to placing on the All-Centennial Conference Second Team. She averaged the second-most aces per set (0.64) in the conference behind Perez, and the eight-most points per set (3.51). Shultz also leads the Diplomats in the back row by averaging 3.14 digs per set.

Melissa Benkowitz earned her first All-Centennial Conference selection with a spot on the honorable mention team. In the conference, she is sixth in points per set (3.72) and seventh in kills per set (3.25), while she ranks second on the Diplomats in digs per set (2.94). 

First-year libero Abby Silinski ranks third on the Diplomats in digs per set (2.87). F&M's front-row defense has been led by Paula Elguera and Connolly who are averaging 0.63 and 0.60 blocks per set, respectively. Mya Anderson has F&M's second-best hitting percentage (.280).

Scouting the Engineers

No. 9 MIT (28-3, 11-0 NEWMAC) has qualified for their fifth consecutive and 24th overall NCAA Tournament following their five-set victory over Babson in the NEWMAC Tournament Championship on Sunday. To get to the tournament final, they earned straight wins over Wellesley in the first round and Coast Guard in the semifinals. 

Yesterday's first-round sweep of Pacific Lutheran saw strong performances across the court. Daphne Gavros totaled 22 digs with seven assists and six aces. Ella Zhou led the attack with 15 kills and eight digs, while Eileen Sadati totaled 14 kills with a .394 hitting percentage. Kayleigh May recorded 35 assists across the three sets.

The Engineers rank as one of the best offenses across Division III entering the tournament, posting the third-best assists per set average (13.03), the fourth-most kills per set (13.91), and the sixth-highest hitting percentage. Defensively, they also maintain the 35th lowest opponent hitting percentage (.116) 

Junior setter Kayleigh May leads the country in assists per set, averaging 11.05. Senior middle blocker Ali Gibbs' .367 hitting percentage is the 16th highest in DIII and second in the NEWMAC, while senior middle blocker Claire Underwood is eighth in the conference (.320). Gibbs also ranks seventh in the conference in points per set (3.49) and eighth in blocks per set (0.74). Junior right side Eileen Sadati is third among NEWMAC attackers in kills per set (3.31). First-year outside hitter Ella Zhou is fifth in the NEWMAC in aces per set (0.54) and fourth in kills per set (3.22). In the back row, senior libero Daphne Gavros is averaging the fifth-most digs per set (3.89) in the conference. 

Five Engineers earned AVCA All-Region 2 honors, led by May being named the region's Player of the Year for the second-consecutive season. She was joined by Freshman of the Year Zhou plus Gavros, Gibbs, and Sadati on the First Team. 

Paul Dill has led the Engineers since the 1996 season, posting a 791-220 record entering tonight in his 30th season. He became a six-time AVCA Division III Regional Coach of the Year this week. Dill has been at the helm for seven NEWMAC titles and 16 NCAA Tournament runs including a pair of quarterfinals appearances in 2021 and 2022. 

Series History

The Diplomats and Engineers have only faced each other on one occasion, as MIT won a five-set match in the F&M Scramble during the opening weekend of the 2001 season.

Ticket Information

Tickets for the MIT Regional will be sold exclusively online at this link.

Tickets are being sold for single sessions (one ticket is good for full, single day), with pricing is as follows:

Single-Session Tickets (Plus $1 Service Fee)

Adult - $12
Senior Citizen - $10
Student - $10
Children (ages 3-12) - $7
Children under 2 years - Free

MIT Regional Schedule

Thursday, November 20 - NCAA Tournament First Round

Match #1 - Salisbury def. (RV) Colorado College, 3-2 
Match #2 - No. 11 Trinity (Texas) def. Manhattanville, 3-0
Match #3 - Franklin & Marshall def. (RV) Williams, 3-1
Match #4 - No. 9 MIT  def. Pacific Lutheran, 3-0 

Friday, November 21 - NCAA Tournament Second Round (Regional Semifinal)

Match #5 - Salisbury vs. No. 11 Trinity (Texas) - 4:30 p.m.
Match #6 - Franklin & Marshall vs. No. 9 MIT - 7:00 p.m.

Saturday, November 22 - NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 (Regional Final)

Match #7 - Winner of Match #5 vs. Winner of Match #6 - 5:00 p.m.