Kelly Tornetta, Muhlenberg
The Muhlenberg volleyball team scored the first four points of the match and went on to sweep Franklin & Marshall (25-20, 25-18, 25-23) in the first round of the Centennial Conference playoffs.
The win sends the Mules (20-10) on to the semifinals and a match with top-seeded Johns Hopkins on Saturday. The winner of the first-round match has gone on to capture the CC title each of the last three years.
Sophomore Kelly Tornetta and freshman Maggie Enestvedt led the Muhlenberg attack with 16 and 12 kills, respectively. Senior Allison Glass added 8 kills and a match-high 15 digs. The Mules hit .297 behind the passing of sophomore Shannon Hubert, who recorded 35 assists to go along with 11 digs and 5 kills.
Playing against a veteran Diplomat squad that was making its ninth consecutive CC playoff appearance, the young Muhlenberg team trailed only once - 1-0 at the start of the second set.
Enestvedt led all players with 6 kills in the opening set. The Diplomats (19-9) rebounded from the early 4-0 hole to tie the match twice, the last time at 10-10, but the Mules responded. It was 19-18 before Tornetta recorded a kill and served two points to extend the lead to 22-18. Muhlenberg went on to win, 25-20.
The Mule offense was on fire in the second set, scoring 20 of the 25 points on kills and hitting .425. Tornetta had 5 kills and combined with freshman Stefanie Mutter on a block as part of an 8-1 run that turned a 7-5 lead into 15-6. F&M closed to within 21-17, but a pair of kills by Enestvedt helped stem the tide, and freshman Laura Boll closed out the set with an ace.
Muhlenberg looked to be well on its way to the sweep when it opened a 22-15 edge in the third set. But with its season on the line, F&M roared back for a 23-23 tie. An off-speed kill by Tornetta stopped the run and gave the Mules match point, and Enestvedt ended it with a kill.
Senior Elizabeth Garrison was one of four Muhlenberg players with double figures in digs, recording 11, while sophomore Erica Schultz contributed 4 kills and a pair of blocks.
The 20-win season is the 10th in program history.