LANCASTER, Pa.- The Franklin & Marshall volleyball team (12-6, 5-0 Centennial Conference) claimed a straight-set victory (25-12, 28-26, 27-25) over visiting Muhlenberg (10-11, 2-3 Centennial Conference) to extend their undefeated start to the Centennial Conference schedule.
Avery Grantham led the F&M attack with 11 kills from a .364 hitting percentage.
Mia Mascherino had a team-best four aces plus ten digs, marking the sixth-straight match with a double-digit total for digs.
Gretchen Eichelzer hit .571 with four kills plus two block assists.
Melissa Benkowitz contributed eight kills and 12 digs.
Chloe Wiedman led the side with 16 digs.
Ceci Connolly recorded three block assists with eight kills, while
Claire Kelly had two solo blocks and four kills.
Carly Campbell posted 17 assists with two aces and five digs, while
Melody Butzer assisted 16 times with six digs and a pair of kills.
A Muhlenberg attack that struggled to a -0.103 hitting percentage in the opening game allowed F&M to cruise to a 25-12 win. F&M tallied the first three points, posting eight unanswered on a run with
Maile Lani Sugamura at the service line. Connolly recorded 1.0 blocks and one kill during that rally that pushed F&M to an early 11-1 lead. The Mules cut into the lead over the next phase of the set, outsourcing F&M 6-3 on a run with three different errors from the Diplomats. F&M pulled completely clear with a seven-point run where the Mules totaled three attack errors, pushing the lead to 22-8. Muhlenberg ended the run by claiming four of the next five points before F&M closed the set on consecutive points.
A tightly-contested second set featured 12 ties and seven lead changes before F&M survived two match points to win the night's second game. The Mules began the set on a 5-1 run where F&M committed four different errors. They maintained this lead up to a 12-7 advantage. At this point, Grantham began a set-tying 6-1 run with back-to-back kills, as Mascherino bookended this rally with a kill and two aces. The Mules broke the tie by scoring four of the next two points, but F&M countered with a 6-1 run with three Grantham kills and two kills from Eichelzer, giving F&M their first lead at 18-17 before extending it to 21-18. The Mules made use of three errors from F&M to reclaim the lead before conceding it on back-to-back Diplomat points. A two-point counter from the Mules got them to set point at 24-23. Connolly delivered two-straight kills to give F&M a chance at the set, although the Mules gave themselves one more chance to win it with a kill and an ace. Connolly kept up her momentum with two more kills before F&M won the set on an attack error at 28-26.
The intensity stayed high in the third set, as it took 11 ties and four lead changes before the Diplomats completed their sweep at 27-25. Back-to-back aces from Mascherino gave F&M an early 3-0 lead that was soon countered by a 3-0 run from their opponents, putting the game at 5-5. A four-point run from Muhlenberg put their new lead a 9-6, although F&M leveled the scoreline with three points of their own. The sides traded points over the next phase of the set, with neither side breaking away by more than a point until the Mules reached a 16-14 lead. They continued to maintain a small gap heading into the final stretch at 19-18. They claimed four of five points to get within two points of winning set three, although a run of four-consecutive attack errors, including a block from Eichelzer and Connolly, tied things up at 23-23. The Mules earned a kill to get the first chance at match point, although Benkowitz delivered consecutive kills to give F&M a shot at wrapping up the match. One more Muhlenberg kill kept them alive for a moment, as a kill from Eichelzer and an ace from Benkowitz confirmed the sweep.
The Diplomats will celebrate Senior Day when they face Washington College on Saturday, October 24, at 1 p.m.
