Game Notes

Women's volleyball continues to receive votes in the AVCA Division III Women's Volleyball poll as the program looks to extend its five-match winning streak with Centennial Conference matches against Ursinus (11-8, 2-3 CC) and Haverford (9-10, 2-2 CC) on deck. On Tuesday, Coco Shultz became the program's first AVCA Division III Women's Player of the Week following a week where she totaled 25 kills (.305), 17 digs, five aces, and two blocks.

Last Week

The Diplomats (17-3, 5-0 CC) are unbeaten in 15 straight sets and five consecutive matches after defeating (RV) Gettysburg (25-13, 25-22, 25-21) on the road on Wednesday and DeSales (25-7, 25-15, 25-15) at home during Saturday's Senior Day celebrations. Gianna Mangiamele led the attack in the win over Gettysburg with 13 kills and a .348 hitting percentage. Coco Shultz had 13 kills as well, while Liah Perez contributed 27 assists. By the end of the match, the Bullets were held to a .153 hitting percentage as the Diplomats posted a .318 hitting percentage across the match with just 11 attack errors. In the win over DeSales, Avery Grantham matched a career-high with nine total blocks (three solo, six block assists) and six kills (.385). Perez posted 24 assists with five aces, while Shultz hit .333 with 12 kills and five aces. The team totaled 16 aces in the match.

Last Time vs. Ursinus

The Diplomats won sets two and four before taking set five 15-9 in last season's regular season contest in Collegeville. Gianna Mangiamele set a single-match career high with 19 kills while Liah Perez had a career-high 39 assists. Mangiamele also had seven total blocks, while Meredith Mangum led the team with 21 digs. Ursinus took the first set, a game that saw no lead bigger than four points. The Diplomats trailed early and tied the score line on three occasions and as late as 20-20 before falling 25-23. F&M never surrendered the lead in set two and used a 6-0 run with the game tied at 12-12 to coast to a 25-19 set win. Set three remained close throughout with 14 ties and seven lead changes. F&M were down 22-18 when they earned six of seven points to reach set point. From there, Ursinus fought back and took the set 28-26. Ursinus got ahead 7-2 in set four, but F&M consistently fought back, tying at 13-13 and taking the lead at 15-14. F&M soon went on a 9-3 run that took the match to set five. The Diplomats broke a deadlock with a 6-1 run that gave them an 11-6 lead. Perez eventually earned the match-point kill. The Diplomats hit a match-best .500 in the fifth set with ten kills and just one attack error. 

Last Time vs. Haverford

The Diplomats earned a couple of narrow wins in sets one and two before cruising to a 25-11 set-three win for a sweep over Haverford at home last year to celebrate Senior Day. Hannah McCarthy became the 11th Diplomat to reach 1000 assists in the match. Jada West matched a career high with seven aces. Perez led the team with 20 assists, while Mangiamele had 11 kills. Shultz totaled 16 digs. Rei Baker hit .400 with seven kills. No team led by more than three points in set one, as the game featured five lead changes and nine ties. Haverford held the lead for much of the middle stages, with the Diplomats drawing level with three points to tie the set at 19-19. Haverford pushed ahead 23-21 before the Diplomats leveled the set at 23-23. Haverford took the next point followed by three-straight F&M points to earn a set-one win. The Diplomats were ahead 7-3 early in set two before the Fords pushed to a 10-10 tie then a 15-12 lead. The Diplomats then went on a 5-0 run to retake the lead. Haverford fought back to a 22-21 advantage, but the Diplomats took four of the last five points to win set two. Set three saw F&M ahead 7-1 early, soon followed by a 10-0 run before winning 25-11. 

Ursinus Preview

The Bears (11-8, 2-3 CC) had a trio of Centennial Conference matches in the past week, falling to Muhlenberg in three sets on Wednesday before picking up four-set wins over McDaniel and Washington College at home on the weekend. Against Muhlenberg, Mel Eglington and Caroline Sherman each had six kills. Emma Illovsky had a team-best 18 digs, while Rachel Rernard posted 12 assists. In the win over McDaniel, Sherman totaled 12 kills with a .273 hitting percentage, seven digs, three aces, and three assists. Eglington had nine kills, eight digs, and five block assists. In the win over Washington, Reena Robinson (.370), Sherman (.263), and Eglington (.269) each had 11 kills. Sherman is averaging the fourth-most points/set (3.43) among Centennial Conference players, while Emma Illovsky ranks seventh in digs/set (3.44). They start the week as one of four teams with a 2-3 record in the Centennial Conference.

Haverford College

The Fords (9-10, 2-2 CC) split its Centennial Conference matches last week with a 3-1 win hosting Washington on Wednesday evening and a straight-set loss at #3 Johns Hopkins on Saturday. In the win over Washington, Gia Frank had a career-best 17 kills with a .378 hitting percentage. Taylor Jones had nine kills with five blocks. Cameryn DeBlecourt totaled 20 assists and three aces. In the loss against Johns Hopkins, Kira Chaney had 16 digs, while Eliana Brown, Frank, and Jones each had six kills. Jones leads the Centennial Conference in hitting percentage (.355) and is fourth in blocks/set (0.97). Fiona Moord is third in blocks per set (1.01), while Chaney is fifth in digs/set (3.98)

Centennial Conference Leaders from Franklin & Marshall (Top 10)

Hitting Percentage
3. Avery Grantham (.348)
7.  Mya Anderson (.306)
9. Gianna Mangiamele (.292)

Kills/Set
T6. Coco Shultz (2.85)
T9. Gianna Mangiamele (2.78)

Assists/Set
3. Liah Perez (5.91)
7. Carly Campbell (5.19)

Service Aces/Set
5. Melissa Benkowitz (0.60)
10. Liah Perez (0.52)

Blocks/Set
7. Avery Grantham (0.86)

Points/Set
5. Coco Shultz (3.42)
10. Gianna Mangiamele (3.10)