Allison Glass' last name may connote fragility, but the sophomore was rock solid in helping the Muhlenberg volleyball team to a landmark win.

The Mules edged Franklin & Marshall in a five-set thriller to seize the early lead in the Centennial Conference race against a team that did not lose a league match all of last season. The loss shattered the Diplomats' 15-match CC regular-season winning streak.

"We really wanted it," said Glass, who led all players with 14 kills – including three in the decisive fifth set – and established a career high with 23 digs. "The adrenaline was crazy. We were all so hyped."

It didn't start off so well for the Mules (11-2), who fell into a 4-1 hole and never recovered in dropping the first set. But Muhlenberg jumped out to a 7-0 lead in the second behind the serving of sophomore Elizabeth Garrison and won in a runaway, 25-11, to equal the match.

The third set was close until the Mules scored five straight points to open up a 14-9 lead. One of those points came at the end of a long rally in which Glass and junior Chelsea Kaser (28 digs) made several terrific digs to keep the ball alive, ultimately setting up a kill by senior Holly Hynson.

F&M (7-4) never got closer than four points, and Muhlenberg took a 2-1 lead with the 25-19 win.

The Diplomats took control early in the fourth set, scoring the first four points. Down 24-17, the Mules made things interesting by scoring the next four points, but F&M eventually won, 25-21, to force a fifth set.

"After losing that first set we knew it was mostly our mistakes," said Glass, who made only one attack error in 36 attempts. "In the fourth set we let them get inside our heads. We knew we just needed to start off strong [in the fifth] and not let them get on one of those runs, because that's how we get into trouble."

Start off strong the Mules did. Junior Katherine Boll (pictured left) soared for a kill on the first point of the fifth set, then dropped a serve just inside the line for an ace. Muhlenberg opened with a 4-0 lead and appeared to be well on its way when it led 13-8.

But the Diplomats would not go quietly, scoring the next four points to close to within one. That's when Glass stepped up.

"There was definitely some anxiety, but I just wanted the ball," she said. "I said to my setter, just get me the ball so I can put it away."

Putaways by Glass, from setter Vanessa Pulice (36 assists) accounted for the last two Mule points of the match. The 15-13 win sealed Muhlenberg's first defeat of F&M since 2003 and turned the tables from the 2011 match (when this year's seniors were freshmen), a five-setter that the Diplomats won 15-13 in the final set.

Then the Mules were upstarts who would finish 5-5 in the CC and not make the playoffs. Now they have their goals set much higher, and a win to prove that they can get there.

"We really needed this win today," said Glass. "It shows that we can beat anyone in the conference."

pictured at right: Junior Sarah Weyhmuller recorded 10 kills and five blocks.