Franklin & Marshall College

BALTIMORE, Md.- For the first time since the 2018 season, the Franklin & Marshall volleyball team (11-6, 4-0 Centennial Conference) was victorious over No. 25 Johns Hopkins (10-7, 3-2 Centennial Conference), taking down the Blue Jays in five sets (13-25, 25-18, 25-21, 23-25, 15-12).

Ceci Connolly yet again led the Diplomats attack, swinging .304 with 19 kills plus three block assists. Carly Campbell recorded 23 assists with ten digs and two aces, while Melody Butzer set 10 kills with two aces. Mia Mascherino posted a team-best 16 digs alongside two solo blocks, three block assists, and five kills. Abby Silinski reached 11 digs with two aces. Gretchen Eichelzer posted five block assists, while Claire Kelly had four block assists. As a side, F&M had a season-best 12 blocks. 

Hopkins cruised to a 25-13 set-one victory, hitting .450 while keeping the Diplomats to a match-low .050 hitting percentage in a set dominated by runs. F&M quickly fell behind to a match-opening six point run before taking three points on a run with a kill and an ace from Mascherino. The Blue Jays answered back by claiming seven of the next eight points for a 13-4 advantage. F&M rallied back with a streak of seven-straight points where Mascherino led the way again with a solo block and a kill, getting within two points at 14-12. Again, however, the Blue Jays pulled away with a 7-0 run before winning the set at 25-13 on four-straight points.

F&M tied things up in set two, breaking away from the Blue Jays near the middle of the set after a back-and-forth start. Hopkins went 3-1 up before being countered with a 3-1 run from F&M. That began a 4-0 run for F&M with back-to-back aces via Butzer for a 7-4 lead. The lead soon swapped on a five-point run from the Blue Jays where F&M committed three attack errors. F&M reclaimed the lead on a 4-1 run followed by a 4-1 run from Hopkins to put the hosts back ahead, 14-12. A service error for Hopkins opened a set-altering seven-point run with two kills from Connolly, putting the F&M lead at 19-14. The Diplomats traded points the rest of the way, winning at 25-18 on an attack error. 

Hopkins began set three with a 3-1 lead that was countered yet again by a 3-1 streak from F&M to tie the set. The sides traded serves for a bit before F&M made use of a 5-1 run to lead by three. Hopkins countered, reclaiming the lead with five of the next six points for a 13-12 advantage. That marked the last lead for Hopkins in the set, as Connolly led a 5-1 run with three kills to put the visitors in control, 17-14. F&M continued to consistently pull away, making use of five attack errors that included two blocks that put them at set point with a 24-18 advantage. Hopkins fought off the set loss with three kills before Connolly clinched a second-set win of the day.

The Diplomats kicked off set four with a 4-0 run, although the Blue Jays soon tied the set at 5-5. The Blue Jays kept the momentum up by scoring seven of the next nine points for a 12-7 lead. F&M responded with a 6-2 run with a pair of aces from Campbell to close within a point at 14-13. The Blue Jays reclaimed the lead with four-straight points, but that was followed by an 8-1 rally from F&M with three kills from Connolly. F&M's 21-19 lead quickly evaporated on back-to-back kills from their opponents. The sides traded points up to 23-23 when the Blue Jays closed out the set on three-straight kills, sending the sides to a fifth set.

F&M claimed the first three points thanks to a kill from Connolly and a block from Mascherino. Hopkins got on the board due to a service error, but that was followed by a 4-1 run from F&M with kills from Melissa Benkowitz and Connolly plus an ace from Silinski, giving F&M a 7-2 lead. The Blue Jays reduced the deficit, scoring five of the next seven points on a run with four different errors from F&M that left the lead at 9-7. An attack error and an ace from Maile Lani Sugamura stopped that run for a four-point advantage. The teams traded serves up to a score of 13-9. Hopkins scored the next two points, but a service error put F&M at match point with a 14-11 lead. Hopkins survived one set point before Connolly closed out the match on a kill.

The victory snaps a nine-match losing skid dating back to a five-set win in the 2018 regular season at Lancaster. 

The win leaves the Diplomats (4-0) and Swarthmore (5-0) as the only undefeated teams in Centennial Conference play entering the midway point of the calendar. 

F&M returns to the Mayser Center for the first of two home matches next week when they play Muhlenberg on Wednesday, October 21, at 7:00 p.m.