LANCASTER, Pa. - The Dickinson volleyball team became the first team in the Centennial Conference to take a set from Franklin & Marshall College, but the Red and White ultimately dropped a 3-1 decision to the Diplomats at the Mayser Center on Wednesday evening.
The two sides were on equal footing early in the first as a kill for
Emma Lange knotted the score at 5-5. A 5-2 push from the home side on scores by Sydney Levins, Gianna Mangiamele, and Jada West made it 10-8. Points by
Cassidy Davis,
Jordan Schucker, and Lange helped the squads to share the next eight points to keep F&M on top 14-12. Dickinson fought back with a 5-3 run with
Amelia Kim putting away a kill, while the duo of
Emma Popham and Lange delivered to blocks knotting things 17-17. Unfortunately for the visitors,
Alexa Barowski and Popham recorded the only actual points for DC during an 8-4 charge by F&M to take the first 25-21.
Dickinson was off to a solid start in the second as kills by
Sophia Denayer, Barowski, Kim, Lange, and Popham gave the Devils a slim 7-5 advantage. Coco Shultz, Levins, and West answered back with a 6-1 push to make it 11-8, before a miscue by the host and a Lange kill trimmed the gap to 11-10. Once again though the Diplomats had an immediate response as Levins, Mangiamele, and Shultz put together a 7-3 run to open up an 18-13 lead.
Avery Lewis recorded an ace and Lange added two kills, but it would not be enough as F&M was able to close out a 25-17 win.
The Red and White appeared like they were on the way to flipping the script on the Diplomats in the third as
Camille Dofiles posted an ace, while Barowski, Davis, Kim, Lange, and Popham all added kills to explode out to an 11-2 lead. Three Levins kills and an ace by Mikayla Smith aided a 6-1 home charge to close within 12-8. After the teams shared the following four points the Devils ripped off five of the next six thanks to
Mathilde Verbitsky and Popham stretching the margin out to 19-11. Kill put away three more kills and the duo of Lange and Schucker combined on a block to give DC the game 25-15.
In the fourth F&M had the fast start scoring the first six points, before Popham and Verbitsky got on the offensive to cut the deficit to 7-5. However, four consecutive Devils errors helped the Diplomats to make it 11-6, before Kim and Popham scored for the visitors trimming the gap to 12-10. Levins continued her strong night with two aces and a kill during a 5-0 run, but Dickinson fought back as scores from
Ann Marie Patterson, Denayer, and Schucker made it 18-14. The sides exchanged the next eight points, prior to Levins and Shultz scoring the final three points to cap off the match at 25-18.
Diplomat Leaders
Kills - Levins (19), Shultz (11)
Digs - Mangum (18)
Assists - McCarthy and Perez (17)
Red Devil Leaders
Kills - Popham (13), Lange (8), Kim (7)
Digs - Davis and Patterson (13), Dofiles (11), Kim (10)
Assists - Dofiles (19), Schucker (11)
Next on the Court
Dickinson (9-7, 3-3 Centennial) returns to the home court on Saturday for a tri-match. The Devils will battle the Bears of Ursinus College in a conference match at noon, before facing the Catholic University Cardinals at 4pm.
