By Jamie Belfer || Contributing Writer
Franklin & Marshall volleyball has been on a storm, winning 6 of the last 7 games. This past Thursday, the Diplomats played their second conference game against the Dickinson Red Devils.
The beginning of the first set was controlled by Dickinson. The Red Devils started off the game with a service ace to take a 0-1 lead. While the Diplomats battled back to get ahead 3-1, a flurry of Dickinson kills put the Red Devils up 4-8. This 4-point deficit was the largest Diplomat deficit in the first set. The Diplomats were able to keep within two to three points of the Red Devils, allowing them to tie the game up at 15-15 after a fantastic kill by senior Barbara Kapustin. Franklin & Marshall never looked back as they scored 9 consecutive points to secure a 24-16 lead. While the Red Devils were able to follow up with a 3-0 run to make the score 24-19, the Diplomats were able to cap off their first set victory 25-19 with a nice block from Kapustin.
Franklin & Marshall began the second set with a kill by sophomore Amy Mullen to go ahead 1-0. Both teams battled as there were 5 quick lead changes in the beginning of the second set. After the Diplomats tied the set up 4-4, they began to pull away with the help of 2 service aces from Mullen and one service ace from freshman Allison Franke. The Diplomats played with a steady lead throughout most of the second set as they were able to stay 3-4 points ahead of the Red Devils. The Diplomats were able to go up 21-15 (their largest lead of the second set) with the help of junior Grace Polisano and sophomore Grace Maggiore, both with 2 kills a-piece. F&M continued to dominate the second set as Maggiore solidified their victory with a service ace for a final score of 25-19.
The Diplomats played from behind for the majority of the third set. They were able to fight back from a 9-15 deficit (their largest deficit of the set) and eventually tie the game up at 18-18 with a service ace from Polisano. The Diplomats were able to continue to stay within 1 to 2 points of the Red Devils, yet they struggled to get ahead. Their first lead of the set came after a kill from Franke, putting them ahead 25-24. The Red Devils re-tied the game at 25-25; however, the Diplomats were able to win the set (27-25) with 2 final kills from sophomore Casey Morrow. This third win secured a 3-0 sweep for the Diplomats.
Maggiore led the team with 10 kills and 23 assists. Franke had 7 kills. Sophomore Carly Ostrowski had 10 digs, while sophomore Delaney Hahn and freshman Carlita Bozzo both had 9.
After defeating the Dickinson Red Devils, the Diplomats are now 7-4 overall and 2-0 in the Centennial Conference. Franklin & Marshall looks to continue its success as it faces-off against Haverford and Alvernia this Saturday, September 22 at 12:00pm and 2:00pm respectively at Haverford College.
First-year Jamie Belfer is a Contributing Writer. Her email is jbelfer@fandm.edu.