LANCASTER, Pa. – The Salisbury University volleyball team opened the F&M Scramble on Friday night dropping a pair of 3-0 contests to Ohio Northern University and the hosts from Franklin & Marshall College.

In the opener, the Sea Gulls narrowly dropped the first set to the Ohio Northern, 25-21, before falling to the Polar Bears 25-11 in the second, and seeing the match end with a 25-21 third set.

The Sea Gulls suffered a 25-19, 25-20, 25-22 defeat in the nightcap, led by Sydney Davis' five blocks and seven kills against Franklin & Marshall.

The Diplomats would claim the first three points of the match, but Salisbury powered back, led by a block from Davis and Jordan Lawson, along with kills from Lawson and Samantha Chubb, tying the set at 4-4.

It was the first of a pair of ties in the set, but the Diplomats pulled ahead by six points late and despite kills from Nicole Venturelli and Lawson, the home team held on.

In the second, the teams remained within three points of each other until a 4-1 spurt from Franklin & Marshall opened up a small cushion, 13-9. Salisbury got back within two points on kills from Venturelli and Davis, but the Diplomats finished the set on a 6-3 run to take the 2-0 lead.

The Sea Gulls were within striking distance throughout the final set of the match, cutting the lead down to one point, 23-22, with an ace from Rachel Dubbs, but two more points gave Franklin & Marshall the win.

While Davis led the way with seven kills, Lawson and Stouffer each got six. Shannon Russell had 16 digs in the match, with Dubbs notched 28 assists.

The Sea Gulls return to action on Saturday, September 17 taking on Stevenson University at 10 a.m., and Eastern University at 12 p.m.