Game Notes

After a pair of conference wins last week, the Franklin & Marshall Volleyball team (14-5, 6-1) will travel to Swarthmore on Wednesday before returning home to face Messiah on Friday.   

The Diplomats remain in third place with five matches left to play, including three conference tilts. F&M will then compete in the Centennial Conference tournament, beginning Wednesday, November 8. Multiple players have crossed career milestones this season, including Jada West with 200 blocks and Hannah McCarthy with 1,000 assists. West became just the 10th Diplomat in F&M history to reach over 200 total blocks while McCarthy was the 11th player to cross 1,000 assists. 

Last Week

On the road against Ursinus on Wednesday night, the Diplomats went the distance against the Bears, holding on to a 3-2 win. Despite a closely contested first set, Ursinus led the entire way and closed out a 25-23 win. It was then F&M who remained in front for the entirety of the second game, going up 8-2 to begin, and later increasing the advantage to 18-12.  After winning the frame, 25-19, the Diplomats had a chance to claim back-to-back stanzas with game point in the third set, but the Bears staved it off and won the tiebreak, 28-26. The fourth game was tied 15-15 before a 9-3 run by F&M allowed the Diplomats to win 25-19 and send the match into a decisive fifth set. With Ursinus leading 2-1 to the start the final game, F&M won three straight points for a 4-2 edge. Shortly after, the Diplomats used a 6-1 run to grow their lead to 11-6. Liah Perez provided the match-clinching kill for F&M, as the Diplomats won their second straight contest. 

Hosting Haverford on Saturday afternoon, F&M went to a tiebreak in game one and managed to close it out, 27-25. The Fords then jumped out to a 12-9 lead in the second set, later increasing the advantage to 19-16. Down 22-21, the Diplomats won the next three rallies before closing out the frame, 25-23. F&M would end up closing out the match with ease in the third stanza, getting out to a 7-1 lead before building the advantage up to 20-5 thanks to a 10-0 run. Makenna Penuel clinched the match with a kill, making it the 10th sweep of the season. 

Last Time vs. Swarthmore

After getting swept by the Garnet in the regular season, the Diplomats met Swarthmore again in the 2022 Centennial Conference tournament semi-finals. F&M got out to a quick start, winning the first two sets by at least eight in each stanza, before the Garnet took a close, 25-23 third game. In a fourth stanza that featured 12 ties and eight lead changes, the Diplomats faced game point - and a potential fifth set - before knocking off Swarthmore with a 27-25 win. The victory sent F&M to the championship match for the first time since 2019. 

Last Time vs. Messiah

After the Falcons took the opening set of the 2022 matchup, the Diplomats fought to get even with a 25-23 win in the second frame. F&M then comfortably closed out the match with a 25-17 and 25-11 win in the third and fourth stanza, respectively. Three different Diplomats registered double-digit kills on the night, including Gianna Mangiamele, who had a team-high 13. As a team, F&M hit .267 on the night and held Messiah to a .116 hitting percentage. 

Previewing Swarthmore

The Garnet took part in the CNU Tri-Match on Saturday afternoon, falling to both Christopher Newport and Washington and Lee in the tournament. The losses dropped Swarthmore to 12-7 on the season, and have left the Garnet with one non-conference matchup remaining. Against Centennial teams, Swarthmore is currently 5-1 with its lone loss being to Gettysburg. In its only ranked matchup, the Garnet took No. 21 MIT to five sets, ultimately falling to the Engineers, 3-2. 

With 534 assists this year, Dani Pena has been a key playmaker for Swarthmore, currently ranking second in the conference in helpers. This past weekend, Pena set a career high with 54 assists against Washington and Lee. On the attack, four different players have surpassed 100 kills, led by Trisha Razdan with 193.  As a team, the Garnet have allowed the sixth-highest hitting percentage in the conference at 0.163. 

Previewing Messiah

Entering the week on a five-match winning streak, the Falcons will look to continue to push with five regular season matchups remaining. In the MAC Commonwealth, Messiah is 3-2, with losses to Stevenson and Eastern. F&M will be the fourth Centennial opponent the Falcons take on this season, having already faced Haverford, Ursinus, and Gettysburg. 

Thus far, Mackenzie Feight has led the team with 261 kills, which also ranks first in the conference. As a team, Messiah has totaled a conference-high 960 assists, with 493 from Emma Swart. The Falcons have also allowed a hitting percentage of 0.116, close to the top-50 in the nation and first in the MAC Commonwealth.