READING, Pa.- The (RV) Franklin & Marshall volleyball team (4-0) registered their third sweep (25-10, 25-15, 25-18) of the 2025 season at Albright (0-2) on Thursday evening.  

Melissa Benkowitz led the offense with a ten-kill performance, hitting .389. Ceci Connolly also registered ten kills with a .250 hitting percentage. Paula Elguera was efficient in attack, registering five kills with a .500 hitting percentage alongside two block assists. Jillian Surkis posted five kills with a .333 hitting percentage. Carly Campbell totaled 15 assists across the three sets with eight digs and a pair of kills, while Lily Harmon registered 12 assists. Emily Dean led the team with ten digs. 

F&M hit .500 with 15 kills and just one attack error in a swift opening set where they didn't trail after the first point. Albright was held to a -.240 hitting percentage. Following an opening service ace from Albright, the Diplomats went on an 11 point run with Coco Shultz at the service line to quickly gain an 11-1 advantage. The run featured four kills from Benkowitz. The sides traded points over the middle of the set before the Diplomats put Albright 15 points back with a 5-0 run to lead 21-6. The Diplomats went on to win the set at 25-10 on another kill from Benkowitz.

Albright gained the upper hand to open set two, opening with a 5-2 lead thanks to four attack errors from F&M. The Diplomats regained momentum with three points to tie the game before pulling ahead, 10-7. Two kills during that stretch came from Kendall Lee. The lead hovered between three and five points over the middle of the set before F&M won the second game with the final seven points, ending the set on a kill from Campbell.

F&M opened set three with four points that included three consecutive kills from Ceci Connolly. F&M pushed their lead to 7-2 before Alright leveled the set with five-straight points. Back-to-back kills from Benkowitz gave the Diplomats a 9-7 advantage, and they would maintain the lead as the sides traded serves through the middle of the set with Albright never claiming the lead. Ahead 16-15, F&M scored three-consecutive points, including two aces from Abby Silinski, for a 19-15 advantage. F&M continued to consistently pull away, outscoring their opponents 6-2 the rest of the way with the match ending on a kill from Benkowitz. 

Across the three sets, F&M hit .318 while limiting their opponents to -.115 and just 11 kills.

The Diplomats compete in a tri-match featuring hosts Drew on Penn State Harrisburg on Saturday, September 6.