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LANCASTER, PA - The Franklin & Marshall College women’s volleyball team has been selected to finish second in the quest for the Centennial Conference (CC) title according to a poll of the CC head coaches. The Diplomats received 91 points, including a poll high five first place votes, to finish one point behind preseason favorite Gettysburg College, which received 92 points and four first place votes. Johns Hopkins University earned 86 points and the remaining two first place votes to place third in the poll, while Haverford College (69), Muhlenberg College (63), Dickinson College (57), Swarthmore College (44), Washington College (38), McDaniel College (36), Ursinus College (18) and Bryn Mawr College (11) round out the poll. F&M’s second place finish is a one place improvement over the team’s 2004 predicted finish as the Diplomats were picked third with 72 points last year. Historically, the Bullets and Diplomats have dominated the Centennial Conference in volleyball as Gettysburg has won or tied for 10 of the 12 Centennial Conference championships since 1993, including the last four, while the Diplomats have captured four Centennial Conference crowns (1993, 1994, 1999, 2000). For third year Diplomats' head coach Mary Kate Boland the title quest is a record-setting feat as she strives to become the first F&M alum to lead her alma mater to a Centennial Conference championship in any sport. An All-Region setter for the Diplomats, she led Franklin & Marshall to the 1999 and 2000 Centennial Conference Championships and four consecutive NCAA Division III Tournament appearances while recording a 120-32 record from 1997-2000, the best four-year mark in program history, as a player. Leading the team this year will be another setter in All-Centennial Conference selection Jackie Skibbie (Sr., Darby, PA/Merion Mercy). A 2004 All-Centennial Conference second team honoree, Skibbie returned to the court last season after suffering a knee injury in the first match of the 2003 season to record 118 kills on 382 attempts, 45 service aces, 403 digs, 10 block assists, four solo blocks and 1,115 assists. In 2002, Skibbie earned All-CC second team honors as she led the Conference in assists (1,268) and assists per game (11.42) as F&M rolled to a 28-10 record as the squad concluded the year 9-1 to finish second in the CC regular season standings, advance to the Conference title match and earn a bid to the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) playoff. In the history of the Conference, she ranks 15th in assists (2,414) and rates fifth in F&M history. Another player to watch is libero Meghan Godorov (Sr., Orefield, PA/Parkland). The first libero ever named to the All-Centennial Conference team since the positions inception prior to the 2002 season, she received her second consecutive All-Centennial Conference second team nod as finished second in the Centennial Conference in digs with 611 (5.88 per game) and recorded 15 assists and 34 service aces last season in 104 games. In 2003, she set the Centennial Conference digs record with 654 (6.66 per game) in 96 games to erase the previous record of 586 held by F&M's Heidi Goedicke '03 from the 2000 season. Godorov is ranked fifth in Centennial Conference and third in Franklin & Marshall College history in digs as she has recorded 1,629, 15 shy of surpassing Melynne Stufft ’00 (1,643) for fourth on the CC and second on the F&M lists. She could make history this season as she is 94 digs away from surpassing Betsy Baydala ’05 of Johns Hopkins for the Centennial Conference (1,722) career record and 33 shy of eclipsing Heidi Goedicke ’03 for the F&M (1,661) record. Franklin & Marshall concluded the 2004 season 20-10, 9-1 in Centennial Conference play, as the Diplomats advanced to the Centennial Conference semifinals as the Diplomats have advanced to the CC semifinals or better three of the past four seasons. Franklin & Marshall will open the season at home on September 3 versus Eastern University, Dickinson College and SUNY-Brockport in the F&M Invitational. 2005 Centennial Conference Volleyball Poll (First Place Votes)
1. Gettysburg (4) 92
2. Franklin & Marshall (5) 91
3. Johns Hopkins (2) 86
4. Haverford 69
5. Muhlenberg 63
6. Dickinson 57
7. Swarthmore 44
8. Washington 38
9. McDaniel 36
10. Ursinus 18
11. Bryn Mawr 11
Head coaches polled
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