Diplomats Playoff Hopes Livin’ After Allentown
Oct 25, 2008ALLENTOWN, Pa. -- Franklin & Marshall's volleyball team swept Muhlenberg 3-0 in a key match for the fifth and final berth in Centennial Conference (CC) Championship Tournament. Both teams were tied for fifth place at 4-3 in CC play heading into the match. F&M has two matches left in league play with Bryn Mawr and Swarthmore slated to come to F&M over the final week of the season.
The Diplomats (10-15, 5-3 CC) used a balanced attack to pick up the win (25-23, 25-18, 25-22). Margot Phelan posted nine kills while Nicole Morano and Erica Spangler each recorded eight kills. Spangler led the defense with a team-high 12 digs while Phelan stepped in with 11 digs. Valerie Pusateri and Pam Horner funneled the offense a combined 31 kills, with Pusateri accounting for 21 of them.
The net effect was Franklin & Marshall's fifth consecutive win in matches against the Mules (16-9, 4-4 CC). It also marked F&M's 16th win in the last 17 meetings with Muhlenberg.
The Diplomats played relatively error-free ball, committing 11 errors on 96 attempts. F&M recorded kills on .260 of its attacks in the match. By contrast, Muhlenberg balked on 23 of 117 hits.
The Mules got a match-high 11 kills from Liz Dean. Megan Eiser posted a match-high 28 assists, while Danielle Losonci recorded a match-high 13 digs.
The Diplomats will look to lock up fifth place on Monday against Bryn Mawr.
