The Virginia Wesleyan University women's volleyball team (6-1, 1-0 ODAC) was defeated in five sets 25-20, 25-23, 22-25, 16-25, and 6-15 by Franklin and Marshall.
Hannah Smith led the Marlins with 13 kills, 13 digs, one solo block, one block assist, one assist, and two service aces,
Madi Schmidt had 10 kills, 13 digs, two block assists, one service ace, and two assists, and
Salena Jones led the team with 23 assists, had one kill, one service ace, two block assists, and three digs.
The Marlins started well going on an 11-4 run, but the Diplomats responded with a 6-2 run to cut the lead to 13-10. Virginia Wesleyan extended their lead with a 4-0 run to lead 17-10. However, Franklin and Marshall responded with a 7-0 run to tie the set at 17-17. The two teams traded points to stay deadlocked at 19-19. VWU outscored the Diplomats 6-2 to win set one 25-20.
A hard-fought second set as there was 13 ties in the set. With the two teams tied at 14 a piece the Marlins went on a 3-0 run to lead 17-14. With such a closely contested set that run was all the Marlins needed and went on to win the second set 25-23.
In the third set, the teams were even tied at 5-5, Virginia Wesleyan went on an 3-0 run to take an 8-5 lead. Franklin and Marshall went on a 4-2 run to bring the lead to 10-9, but VWU went on a 3-0 run to extend their lead to 13-9. The Diplomats went on a 7-1 run to take a 16-14 lead, but the Marlins fought back with a 3-0 run to lead 17-16. Franklin and Marshall took control and outscored the Marlins 9-5 to drop the set 25-22.
Virginia Wesleyan went on a 4-1 run to begin the fourth set. Franklin and Marshall chipped away at the Marlins' lead and tied the match at 8-8. This led to a 9-1 run that gave the Diplomats a 15-9 lead. The host took control and won the fourth set 25-16.
In the fifth set, the Diplomats kept their momentum and built a 5-3 lead. The host extended their lead with a 5-0 run to lead 10-4, they went on to win the fifth set 15-6.
