Franklin & Marshall College

MONTCLAIR, N.J.- The Franklin & Marshall volleyball team (6-5) fell in both of its Saturday Montclair Tri-Match contests, opening with a straight-set loss to Whittier (8-3) before losing in four sets to Montclair State (8-3) .

Match One - vs. Whittier

The Diplomats were shut down in straight sets (17-25, 15-25, 21-25) to open the day against Whittier in the day's neutral-site matchup.

Melissa Benkowitz led the Diplomats with 13 kills with a .429 hitting percentage plus ten digs.  Ceci Connolly contributed ten kills. Carly Campbell assisted 21 kills with eight digs and three kills. Chloe Wiedman led the team with 15 digs.

 F&M opened the match with a 4-2 lead via two kills from Connolly and one apiece from Benkowitz and Mia Mashcerino. The Poets took control with an 8-1 run to give them an 11-5 advantage. F&M closed the gap by taking four of the next five points, while a later three-point run closed the gap 15-13 after two kills and an ace from Benkowitz, the lone ace for F&M in the match. After trading serves once, Whittier pulled away with an 8-1 run to reach set point. F&M fought off one set point with a kill from Jillian Surkis before the set ended on a Poets kill at 25-17. 

F&m was unable to recover from a game-opening eight-point run from their opponents where the Poets totaled six kills. An attack error ended the run, but Whittier claimed the next four points to efficiently reach a double-digit advantage at 12-1. The Diplomats began to cut into the lead, using a 4- 1 run to reduce the deficit to 17-9, but they could get no closer than seven points in the remaining time, as Whittier closed out the set on a 3-0 run with a set-point ace.

Match Two - at Montclair State

F&M won the third set but came short of forcing a deciding fifth set in defeat to Monclait State (18-25, 17-25, 25-16, 22-25).

Benkowitz led the team in both kills (11) and digs (16), while Connolly totaled ten kills, a team-best three block assists, and four digs. Campbell had 23 assists and 11 digs, while Melody Butzer registered 15 assists and eight digs. Wiedman had 13 digs, and Mascherino recorded 12. Claire Kelly hit .400 with five kills plus a solo block, two block assists, and one ace, while Gretchen Eichelzer hit .600 with four kills. 

The Red Hawks opened the first set with a 3-0 run to lead 4-2 , although F&M drew back level with a 3-1 run to tie the set at 6-6. Montclair State created some space with a 7-3 run to lead 13-9 midway through the set. A later 5-1 run extended their lead to seven at 20-13, and the sides traded serves to set point, which came on an ace at 25-18.

F&M suffered a match-worst nine attack errors and a -0.049 hitting percentage in the second set in a set where both offenses struggled. The Red Hawks hit .081 with seven attack errors. F&M opened the match with a 4-2 lead via kills from Connolly and Mascherino plus a Mascherino-Mya Anderson block. F&M kept up the momentum with a later 6-1 run that included three errors from their opponents, a block from Benkowitz and Mascherino, an ace from Maile Lani Sugamura, and a kill from Claire Kelly.  Leading 12-6 at this point, F&M conceded the next four points before countering with a 3-0 run to maintain a 15-10 advantage. After trading serves up to a 17-13 scoreline, Montclair State countered with a set-ending 12-point run that included four aces, three kills, and two blocks.

F&M earned an early 4-3 lead in the third set, but the Red Hawks gained a modest lead with a six-point run. F&M drew level with a five-point run at 9-9. The sides traded points up to 11-11 before F&M pulled away with a 5-0 run to lead 16-11. F&M eventually closed out set three with seven of the last nine points on a run with kills from four different Diplomats, an ace from Kelly, and a solo block from Connolly.

Two Connolly kills guided F&M to an early 3-1 advantage in the fourth set, but the Red Hawks tied things up at 4-4. The sides traded serves up to a 10-apiece deadlock when Montclair State used a 7-1 run with four kills and three attack errors to lead by five, 16-11. A 4-1 run from F&M reduced the deficit two, and they stayed in the fight late on, trailing 23-19. A 3-0 run with kills from Connolly and Mascherino plus an ace from Butzer closed the gap to 23-22, but the Red Hawks closed the match with a kill and match-point attack error. 

Up Next

The Diplomats return on Thursday, September 24, at 7:00 p.m. on the road at No. 7 Juniata.