Game Notes

The Franklin & Marshall volleyball team (11-4, 3-0) returns to the Mayser Center for home matches against Gettysburg and Muhlenberg this week. Entering the week, the Diplomats have yet to drop a contest against a Centennial team and have won nine straight sets. F&M is also looking to keep its six-match winning streak alive, which dates back to September 16 against Pomona Pitzer.  

Two of the team's four losses have come against ranked opponents while just one has been at home. Meanwhile, eight of the Diplomats' 11 wins have been sweeps. Over the course of the current winning streak, F&M has lost just three games and held its opponents to a hitting percentage of 0.096, well below the season average of .133. The defensive efforts have been led by Meredith Mangum,  who's closing in on 1,000 digs with 236 coming this year. Offensively, three different Diplomats have eclipsed 100 kills on the season in Gianna Mangiamele, Coco Shultz and Sydney Levins. 

Last Week

Playing back-to-back matches on the road, F&M swept both Dickinson and Bryn Mawr to improve to 11-4 and 3-0 in the conference. In Wednesday's contest against the Red Devils, the Diplomats were led by 21 assists from Liah Perez and 11 kills from Sydney Levins. It was the seventh match this season in which Perez recorded over 20 assists. Additionally, it was the fifth straight time that F&M held its opponent to a hitting percentage of below .200.

Three days later, the Diplomats made quick work of Bryn Mawr for a 3-0 sweep. F&M displayed another strong defensive performance in the tilt, keeping the Owls to a hitting percentage of .000 on 65 attacks. For the first time this year, Emily Dean led the team in assists with 15, also marking a season-high for the first-year. Meanwhile, Levins and Coco Shultz each tallied seven kills with Levins also adding three serving aces. 

Last Time vs. Gettysburg

The Diplomats managed to outlast the Bullets in three sets in 2022, but each frame was decided by four points or less. F&M led by as much as six in the first stanza before Gettysburg stormed back to even the score at 16-16. With the two teams later tied at 20-20, the Diplomats went on to win five of the final six points to take a 1-0 advantage. In another back-and-forth game, the score saw nine lead changes and 14 ties in the second set. With F&M up 24-21, Gettysburg won three straight points to force a tiebreak. The Diplomats ended up winning  27-25, though, thanks to an ace from Meredith Mangum and block by Makenna Penuel and Lauren Arnold on back-to-back rallies. The final frame played out in a similar fashion, with four lead changes and 11 ties in another tiebreak. The Bullets had game point at 25-24, but three straight points from F&M, including back-to-back kills by Sydney Levins and Gianna Mangiamele, gave the Diplomats the sweep. 

Last Time vs. Muhlenberg

Playing host to the Mules, F&M eased past Muhlenberg with a sweep. While the Diplomats won the first two sets by a difference of at least 10, the third game proved to be much more challenging, with the Mules battling the entire way. With F&M leading 13-10 in the opening frame, the Diplomats ended the set on a 12-3 run to win the game. The momentum carried on into the second stanza, with F&M opening up a 15-8 lead to begin and closing out with a 25-15 win. The Diplomats would not lead by more than four in the final set, however, as Muhlenberg eventually tied the score at 21-21. Despite this, F&M hung on to defeat the Mules 25-21 and clinch the match.  

Previewing Gettysburg

The Bullets have gotten out to a hot start on the 2023 campaign, coming in with a 15-4 record and 2-1 in the conference. Gettysburg's lone loss against a Centennial foe came against No. 9 Johns Hopkins in a tightly-contested, four set battle. In non-conference play, Gettysburg swept eight of its opponents and dropped just three contests. It has also played a mutual team on F&M's schedule in York, with the Bullets also sweeping the Spartans. 

Much like the Diplomats, Gettysburg has also been one of the best defensive teams in the country, ranking ninth nationally in blocks per set with 2.35. The efforts at the net have been led by Mary Huegel, who is ninth in the nation in total blocks with 77. Opposing teams are also hitting just .101 against the Bullets, good for 21st in the nation and first in the conference. On the attacking end, Kylie Ulrich, who was recently named the Centennial Conference Offensive Player of the Week, has collected 160 kills. In seven matches this season, Ulrich has totaled double-digit kills, including a career high 17 against Penn St.-Altoona on September 27. 

Previewing Muhlenberg

The Mules have yet to win a conference game this season, but have remained above .500 at 10-7 on the year. All losses against Centennial teams have been a part of a three-match losing streak, with the latest being a 3-0 loss to No. 9 Johns Hopkins. Muhlenberg was three points away from winning its first conference match in a tilt against Ursinus, but the Bears rallied to win a five-set thriller last Wednesday. 

Alyssa Faville has starred for the Mules this year, averaging nearly six digs per set which ranks 11th in the nation. In three matches, Faville has gone over 30 digs, and has helped keep the opposition to a hitting percentage of .162 on the season. The defensive performance has been supplemented with productive years from Christina Marcin, Esmae Oehler and Rachel Jacobs, all of whom have registered over 100 kills. Marcin leads the way with 150, which is nearly double the amount she had all of last year.