Game Notes

F&M volleyball (19-3, 7-0 CC) continues to receive votes in the AVCA Division III Women's Volleyball poll after a strong week with wins over Ursinus in the midweek and Haverford on Saturday. It's a three-match week for the Diplomats as they host Swarthmore on Wednesday before heading to Misericordia for a tri-match featuring hosts Misericordia and Elizabethtown.

Last Time Out

After dropping the first set to Ursinus on Wednesday, F&M took the next six in their wins over Ursinus on Wednesday and Haverford on Saturday. Gianna Mangiamele led the offense in the over Ursinus with 18 kills and a .452 hitting percentage along with three block assists and a solo block, totaling 20.5 points. Avery Grantham swung for a .611 hitting percentage with 13 kills, a team-high five aces, three block assists, and a solo block. Liah Perez averaged 6.75 assists/set, totaling 27, while Carly Campbell had 22 assists. Melissa Benkowitz had 13 digs. Mangiamele also was key in the win over Haverford with a .722 hitting percentage (career-high, minimum 15 attacks) and 14 kills. Perez averaged 7.00 assists/set with a team-high four aces. Grantham hit .316 with seven kills and four block assists. Benkowitz had 11 digs. Mangiamele earned Centennial Conference Player of the Week for the third time in her career as she was named Offensive Player of the Week following strong performances in each match. 

Last Time vs. Swarthmore

The Diplomats earned a four-set win over Swarthmore (25-18, 18-25, 25-17, 25-21) in Swarthmore last season. Mangiamele matched a career-high with 19 kills and a .415 hitting percentage along with four total blocks. Rei Baker (10 kills, .400) and Coco Shultz (12 kills, .241) also were in the double digits for kills. Perez averaged 8.00 assists/set (32 total) with a pair of aces. The Diplomats got out to an early set-one lead via a 5-0 run to make it 9-3. A gap of around a half-dozen points was maintained to the end of the set. Swarthmore pulled out to a 10-2 lead in set two, but F&M soon narrowed the gap with a 4-0 run that put them down 14-10. They were unable to get much closer, as Swarthmore traded points to set point. The lead was traded five times early in set three. F&M got ahead 6-4 before Swarthmore took the next four points. F&M answered back a 4-0 run of their own to retake the lead 10-8. Tied a 11-11, the Diplomats used a 6-0 run with three kills and two Perez aces and continued to pull away to a 25-17 finish. The lead was never more than five points in set four, with F&M controlling the lead from 6-5 onward but never pulling away from the Garnet. A 5-1 run in the middle of the set gave the Diplomats some clearance to thwart a couple of bursts of Swarthmore momentum, with Mangiamele securing the match on a kill 25-21.

Last Time vs. Elizabethtown

F&M opened the 2024 season with a sweep of Elizabethtown (25-17, 25-23, 25-21) at the Mayser Gymnasium. Three Diplomats hit at least .350 (minimum 15 attacks) including Mangiamele (9 kills, .350), Baker (7 kills, .353), and Shultz (9 kills, .364). Perez assisted 19 times, while Campbell marked her collegiate debut with 14 assists. F&M pushed out to a 10-2 on a run that included two Mya Anderson aces. Etown got within three points via a 6-1 run, but F&M followed this with an eight-point run with two Shultz aces and two Baker kills. Team mostly traded points until a Blue Jays attack error on set point. Etown took an early lead in set two, pushing ahead 9-3. F&M narrowed the gap a bit before tying the set on a 4-0 run at 17-17. Etown took the next two points, then F&M took four of five points for their first lead of the set. The teams traded points a couple more times before Anderson got the Diplomats to set point at 24-23. An attack error again marked set point. F&M took the early lead in set three with a 12-2 run that included two Benkowitz aces and four Mangiamele kills. The Diplomats held a margin around ten points up to a 24-16 set point. Etown rallied by taking the next five points before Anderson finished the match with a kill. 

Last Time vs. Misericordia

F&M met Misericordia for the only match to date between the sides in 1989. The Diplomats earned a 2-0 win at the neutral site of Cabrini in Radnor. The Diplomats were a 10-21 team in 1989

Swarthmore Preview

The Garnet (14-7, 6-0 CC) split their results last week with a four-set win hosting Muhlenberg (25-17, 17-25, 25-22, 25-23) on Wednesday before losing in five sets at Eastern (25-23, 23-25, 16-25, 25-23, 13-15) on Friday night. In the win over Muhlenberg, Isabel Adam had a career-high 21 kills with a .515 hitting percentage. Angelina Heminway contributed 13 kills, while Madeline Mountcastle posted 28 assists, averaging seven per set. Melissa Eyer led the Garnet with 18 digs. In the loss to Eastern, Adam again led the attack with 20 kills, while Alexia Enache had 18. Mountcastle had 24 assists, while Emily Sun had 21. Eyer contributed 24 digs, three aces, and 11 assists. Among Centennial players, Enache is second in kills/set (3.41), while Adam is third (3.00). Enache leads the conference in points/set (3.89). Eyer is second in digs/set (4.43).

Elizabethtown Preview

The Blue Jays (15-10, 6-3 Landmark) were 1-1 in traveling Landmark Conference matches last weekend with a four-set loss at Catholic (25-23, 25-17, 25-15, 25-19) on Friday and a sweep of Goucher (25-5, 25-15, 25-19) on Saturday. Against Catholic, Savannah Lesley had a team-high eight kills with six digs. Emma Bitner contributed 15 assists and 13 digs, while Lucy Stern posted a team-high 18 digs. In the win over Goucher, Lucy Stanek and Kate Barbon each had nine kills. Stanek also posted 12 digs, while Stern had 13 digs. Bitner is sixth in the Landmark Conference in aces/set (0.46), while Stern is fourth in digs/set (4.34). 

Misericordia Preview

Misericordia (21-5, 3-2 MAC Freedom) split its results last week with a four-set win over FDU-Florham at home on Wednesday before losing 1-3 at William Paterson on Saturday. Meghan Peters set a new program record with a .720 hitting percentage (minimum 20 attempts)  with 19 kills in the win over FDU-Florham. Jenna Schuda had 39 assists and seven kills, while Keira McCaffrey had seven kills and four blocks. Sarah Journey led in service aces with six. In the loss to William Paterson, Cassandra Genduso had nine kills and two blocks. Schuda had 31 assists, 14 digs, and two aces. Among MAC Freedom players, McCaffrey has the second-best hitting percentage (.389), while Schuda is third (.346). Journey leads the conference in aces/set (0.70), while Peters is third in kills/set (3.29) and second in points/set (4.01).

F&M Individuals in Centennial Conference Top 10

Hitting Percentage
3. Avery Grantham (.363)
7. Gianna Mangiamele (.320)
9. Mya Anderson (.298)

Kills/Set
T6. Gianna Mangiamele (2.96)
T9. Coco Shultz (2.84)

Assists/Set
3. Liah Perez (6.02)
6. Carly Campbell (5.24)

Service Aces/Set
T7 Melissa Benkowitz (0.55)
10. Liah Perez (0.52)

Blocks/Set
6. Avery Grantham (0.89)

Digs/Set
10. Coco Shultz (3.03)

Points/Set
5. Coco Shultz (3.44)
8. Gianna Mangiamele (3.29)