LANCASTER, Pa.- The Franklin & Marshall volleyball team (3-0) earned a pair of straight-set wins over Susquehanna (0-3) and Randolph-Macon (2-1) to wrap up the Franklin & Marshall Scramble on Saturday.

Ceci Connolly was named the Franklin & Marshall Scramble Most Valuable Player, while Coco Shultz joined her on the All-Tournament Team. Across the weekend, Connolly totaled 33 kills with a .351 hitting percentage, averaging 3.30 kills per set. Her weekend high for kills was the 17 she recorded against Lancaster on Friday night. She also totaled three block assists and five digs. Shultz posted 32 kills with a .311 hitting percentage, averaging 3.20 kills per set. She recorded 32 digs, averaging 3.20 per set with seven aces. 

Match One (vs. Susquehanna)

The Diplomats earned their first straight-set win of the season to open the afternoon against Susquehanna (25-15, 25-15, 25-11).

With her eight aces tonight, Liah Perez tied for the sixth most in a single match in program history, while it's the third-most in any three-set match. Emily Dean totaled a career-best six aces, while the Diplomats combined for 19 in the match.

Shultz continued her strong start to the season, hitting .333 with nine kills, seven digs, and two aces. Connolly swung .421 with nine kills and three digs. Carly Campbell contributed 18 assists and three aces. 

F&M opened the first set with a 7-2 lead with three aces from Campbell during this span. Susquehanna closed the gap over the next phase, getting within two points thanks to a 5-1 run with three blocks. From there, the Diplomats pulled away again by scoring nine of the next 11 points for a 19-10 lead. They maintained a lead near ten points up to Mya Anderson's set-point kill.

The River Hawks earned an early 4-3 lead in the second set, but the Diplomats proceeded to go on an eight-point run with Perez at the service line, and she tallied four of her aces during this stretch. Down 11-4, Susquehanna soon found momentum again, making use of Diplomats attack errors to close within three points at 15-12. F&M created some space with a 4-1 run for a 19-13 lead. The Diplomats concluded the set with five unanswered points, including two more aces from Perez. 

F&M hit a match-best .435 in the third set with just two attack errors while holding Susquehanna to a .000 hitting percentage. The Diplomats earned an early 14-3 advantage, with four points coming via Connolly kills. Susquehanna maintained pace up to a 19-11 scoreline. At that point, F&M scored the final six points of the match, including three aces from Dean.

Match Two (vs. Randolph-Macon)

Set two featured another three-set win against the Yellow Jackets (25-14, 25-23, 25-12). 

Connolly posted a .500 hitting percentage on seven kills, while Avery Grantham posted five kills with a .444 hitting percentage, three solo blocks, and one block assist. Melissa Benkowitz led the team in digs (12). Perez posted 14 assists with 11 digs. Shultz recorded nine kills with ten digs.

F&M built a sizable advantage swiftly to open the first set, leading 12-2 with three kills from Connolly. The teams traded points through the rest of the set, as F&M eventually claimed the first game on a Shultz kill at 25-14. 

F&M earned a 6-3 lead, making use of solo blocks from Grantham and Anderson. The Yellow Jackets stung back with the next four points on a run of a kill, two blocks, and an ace. F&M responded with a four-point run of their own for a 10-7 lead. Yet again, Randolph-Macon responded with a 6-0 run, regaining a 13-10 lead. The teams swapped the lead once more, as F&M went on a 6-1 run that included two Jillian Surkis kills for a 14-13 lead. After tying at 18-18, 19-19-, 20-20, and 21-21, F&M reached set point with three straight points. Randolph-Macon fought off set point twice before Surkis confirmed the set with a kill at 25-23.  

F&M opened set three with a 9-2 lead via two kills from Connolly and a solo block and kill from Grantham. The Yellow Jackets cut into the lead with four straight points before falling out of reach to a 6-0 run from the Diplomats that saw two aces from Benkowitz, giving the hosts a 15-6 lead. Ahead 22-9, the Yellow Jackets scored three points before F&M concluded the match with kills from Shultz and Connolly and a ball handling error. 

F&M plays again on Thursday, September 4, at 7:00 p.m., as the Diplomats make the trip to Albright. 

Franklin & Marshall Scramble All-Tournament Team
Franklin & Marshall: Ceci Connolly (MVP), Coco Shultz
Randolph-Macon College: Allison Lach, Caitlin Smith
Lancaster Bible College Lea Sareyka
Susquehanna University: Kyndalll Mason