It’s been a strange end to a near-perfect regular season for Panther volleyball.
Following a nine-day hiatus due to Tropical Storm Helene, Franklin’s JV and varsity teams finally returned to action Oct. 4. In Mountain Seven Conference wins over Smoky Mountain on Senior Night, they improved to 18-0 and 18-1 respectively.
After a busy week of Helene relief efforts, assembling 200 first-aid kits and joining other Panther athletes unloading large shipments of aid, both Panther teams took the court in front of a packed house. In a rematch of a hard-fought Panther in Sylva Sept. 5, both JV teams looked evenly matched again early, with Franklin leading 8-7 following two aces from Olivia Anthony.
Emma Hatch and Addie Powell heated up in the next few minutes, posting two kills apiece to go up 16-11 and force a Smoky timeout. Lass Ward, Shelby Adams and Lily Brison added aces down the stretch to win the first set 25-19.
Franklin stayed hot in the second, going up 12-5 behind three kills from Anthony and two aces from Anna Stiles. From there Finley Moffitt continued a strong match at the net, capping a 25-17 win with a match-point kill. Cindy Harrell’s unbeaten team has now won 36 of their 39 sets, including 22 of 22 in the Mountain Seven.
Following their JV counterparts’ win and a ceremony honoring their eight seniors, Bekah Brooks’ varsity squad took the floor for the evening’s marquee matchup. Having been blown out by the Panthers in Sylva Sept. 5, Smoky looked much better to start the rematch, sitting tied at 13 despite four kills from Kyrah Bowles.
From there Franklin began to pull away, winning 25-17 behind three straight aces from McKenna Plemmons and airtight defense from Emma Ledford.
Both teams started the second set in much the same way as the first, looking evenly matched early until Franklin pulled ahead to make it 23-12. The Panthers then made several substitutions, and Smoky roared back to knot the set at 24. Upon retaking the court however, Franklin’s starters stayed cool under pressure, getting kills from Danni Ledford and Bowles to win 26-24.
Once again both teams looked evenly matched to start the third, sitting tied at 8 despite two points from Aubrey Haley. Once again Franklin was the better team down the stretch, getting three points apiece from Bowles and Ryan Green to win 25-18.
After their wins over Smoky, the Panthers turned their attention to their last two matches of the regular season, planning trips to Rabun Gap Oct. 9 and West Henderson Oct. 16. The trip to West, which was rescheduled from Oct. 3 due to damage from Helene, will act as a de facto Mountain Seven title match, as coaches have agreed to forgo this year’s conference tournament.
The varsity Panthers ended the week at 18-1 overall and 10-1 in the conference, sitting in second place behind the 10-0 Falcons. As of Oct. 7, West and Franklin were the 4th and 5th-ranked teams in the 3A West Region, respectively, ahead of the state playoffs’ planned first round Oct. 17. The Falcons dealt the Panthers their only loss of the season to date, a 3-0 defeat on Tom Raby Court Sept. 10.