Diplomats Sweep Haverford in Volleyball, 3-0

by Sports Information
9/24/03

LANCASTER, PA - Outside hitter Maureen Lafferty (Sr., Collegeville, PA/Villa Maria) tallied 17 kills and setter Jenn Grue (Sr., Canton, PA/Canton) dished out 45 assists as the Franklin & Marshall College Diplomats swept Haverford College in volleyball, 3-0.

Outside hitter Rebecca Zeigler (So., Manchester, PA/Northeastern) registered nine kills and middle blocker Elizabeth Earll (Jr., New Freedom, PA/Susquehannock) notched 13 kills and two solo blocks as the Diplomats improved to 2-0 in Centennial Conference play, 9-3 overall, while Haverford falls to 10-4, 0-1 in Conference play.

Trailing 19-14 in the first game, the Diplomats behind Lafferty rallied to knot the match at 25-25. The Fords rallied for a 28-25 lead, but Franklin & Marshall answered with the last five points to take a 30-28 victory and gain the momentum in the match.

In game two, the Fords built a 6-4 lead, but failed to lead again as Franklin & Marshall rallied to take a dominating 23-14 lead and cruise to a 30-21 victory.

The Diplomats' roll continued in game three as the two teams battled in the early going before Franklin & Marshall engineered a 20-14 lead. Haverford tied the match at 27-27 before F&M answered twice for a 29-27 lead.

One point shy of a sweep, the Fords knocked down a kill to pull within 29-28 before a service error into the net closed out the scoring as Franklin & Marshall improved to 10-1 against the Fords since 1993.

The key to the game for Franklin & Marshall was digs as the Diplomats neutralized the CC's top hitter Jelyn Meyer, who leads with conference with a .435 hitting percentage.

Franklin & Marshall (9-3, 2-0 Centennial Conference) will continue the season on September 26-27 at the Juniata College Invitational.

Haverford (10-4, 0-1 CC) 28-21-28
Franklin & Marshall (9-3, 2-0 CC) 30-30-30

Kills: Maureen Lafferty 17, Elizabeth Earll 13, Rebecca Zeigler 9
Digs: Meghan Godorov 19
Assists: Jenn Grue 45
Solo Blocks: Elizabeth Earll 2