Box Score
LANCASTER, Pa. – Franklin & Marshall College held off hard-charging Gettysburg College in the fourth set to claim a 3-1 decision in Centennial Conference volleyball action Wednesday night at the Mayser Center.
After dropping the first set to Franklin & Marshall (17-8, 6-3 CC) 25-23, Gettysburg (16-8, 5-4 CC) bounced back for a 25-13 decision in the second set. The Diplomats won the third set 25-16 before holding off a furious rally in the fourth for a 26-24 decision.
After a back-and-forth opening set that saw 10 ties and three lead changes, the two teams dominated in their respective wins in the second and third contests. Franklin & Marshall held the upper-hand throughout the fourth frame, but Gettysburg kept it close and pulled to 21-20 on a kill by freshman
Francesca Garison (Metuchen, N.J./John F. Kennedy Memorial).
The Diplomats rattled off the next three points to set up match point. The Bullets refused to back down, following up a service error by the hosts with two kills by Garison and another put down by fellow first-year
Shannon Fletcher (Severna Park, Md./Severna Park) to tie the score 24-24. No fifth set was needed, however, as Grace Polisano finished off the Diplomat win with back-to-back kills.
Senior
Laura Bergin (Charlottesville, Va./Western Albemarle) posted her second-straight double-double with 13 kills and 13 digs. Garison finished with a dozen kills, while Fletcher and junior
Lauren Godshalk (West Chester, Pa./Bishop Shanahan) each tallied six kills and combined for six blocks.
Junior setter
Stephanie Blair (Chester, N.J./West Morris Mendham) recorded 35 assists and 18 digs. Junior
Katherine Gilbert (Baltimore, Md./Notre Dame Prep) led the way with 24 digs and three aces, while classmate
Maddie Weikert (Gettysburg, Pa./Gettysburg) put up 10 digs.
Polisano and Ellie Ezekiel recorded big numbers for Franklin & Marshall, the former posting 23 kills and the latter logging 22 kills and 28 digs. Allison Edelstein dished out 55 assists and Mary Leneweaver contributed 22 digs.
Gettysburg closes the season at Johns Hopkins University (16-7, 9-0 CC) Saturday at 1 p.m.
