Franklin & Marshall College

LANCASTER, Pa. - In a clash of undefeated Centennial Conference sides, it was the Franklin & Marshall volleyball team (17-6, 10-0 Centennial Conference) that prevailed in a five-set thriller (25-18, 15-25, 13-25, 25-15, 15-13) against (RV) Swarthmore (19-4, 9-1 Centennial Conference) to secure the top seed in the 2026 Centennial Conference Volleyball Tournament.

This marks the sixth time that Franklin & Marshall has gone undefeated in Centennial Conference play. The last instance occurred in the 2018 season, while it's the third time Mary Kate Salko '01 has completed the feat as head coach.

Melissa Benkowitz led the team offensively with 13 points from 12 kills and one service ace plus 16 digs. Ceci Connolly recorded nine kills, seven digs, one solo block, and three block assists. Claire Kelly hit .462 with seven kills and two total blocks, while Jillian Surkis hit .400 with eight kills. Mia Mascherino recorded 18 digs, a team-best three aces, and seven kills. Abby Silinski led F&M in the back row with 19 digs. Carly Campbell and Melody Butzer split setting duties, as Campbell totaled 22 assists with 12 digs, while Butzer had 20 assists. 

Back-to-back Garnet kills in set one were followed by eight unanswered points from F&M with Mascherino at the service line. She had one kill and an ace on this run. Benkowitz recorded two kills, while Connolly had 1.5 blocks and a kill. F&M kept the lead near a half-a-dozen points for most of the set, as they entered the later stages with a 17-12 lead. A 7-1 run with a kill and an ace from Mascherino got F&M to set point with an 11-point lead. Swarthmore stayed alive thanks to two aces and a few errors from F&M, but Benkowitz ended the set on a kill.

F&M struggled to nine attack errors in the second set, losing by a ten-point margin. F&M earned an early 4-2 lead on a run with two kills from Connolly. The Garnet tied the set at 4-4 before Benkowitz pushed F&M back ahead with two kills for a 7-5 advantage. Swarthmore followed this with a momentum-changing 7-1 run with six different errors conceded by F&M. A run of four-straight points pushed their lead to 16-9. The teams traded points to the finish of the set, as the visitors won on a kill at 25-15.

Franklin & Marshall's offensive woes persisted in the third set, as the side fell a set behind after registering a -0.028 hitting percentage in the third game. Swarthmore were at their best mark of the day, hitting .364. The Diplomats drew a 3-2 advantage before falling behind to a 9-0 run from Swarthmore with five kills, two blocks, and two additional attacking errors. A 4-0 F&M run got F&M back within four points, but Swarthmore countered with seven-straight points to lead by double digits at 18-7. They ended the set on a 4-0 run, winning 25-13. 

The Diplomats found their form again in the fourth set, swinging a match-best .344 to force a fifth set. The teams were inseparable early, trading points up to a 4-3 Swarthmore lead. Consecutive kills from Surkis allowed F&M to reclaim the lead, while they followed an attack error with a 7-1 run where Kelly had two kills, pushing the lead to 12-6. F&M's lead held up to 15-10 when they extended their lead to nine points on kills from Gretchen Eichelzer, Benkowitz, and Surkis. F&M traded points late on, making use of three late service errors from the Garnet before Benkowitz's second set point of the day.

A service error and kill put the Garnet two points ahead, but Connolly and Benkowitz delivered kills to tie the fifth set at 2-2. Swarthmore responded with four-straight points on three kills and a block. F&M held the gap at four points up to an 8-4 deficit. Eichelzer and Surkis starred in a lead-changing five-point run with two Surkis kills, an ace from Benkowitz, one kill from Eichelzer, and a block split by Surkis and Eichelzer. The Garnet scored three of the next four points to earn the lead back at 11-10. F&M countered with a 4-0 run with two kills apiece from Mascherino and Kelly to reach match point. The Garnet survived two match points before a setting error secured the top seed for the Diplomats.

Franklin & Marshall will play for the program's seventh Centennial Conference title with the last win occurring in the 2014 season. 

The Diplomats will open the Centennial Conference Tournament in the semifinal round, hosting the lower-seeded first-round winner on Friday, November 13. A preview of the match will be released after Friday's opponent is confirmed.