Panther volleyball is through to the conference semifinals.
On the week of Oct. 6 the team transitioned to their postseason, playing their season finale and Round 1 of the Mountain Eight tournament. Despite a loss to West Henderson, a blowout quarterfinal win kept Franklin’s title hopes alive.
On Monday the Panthers welcomed West to Tom Raby Court for both teams’ final game of the regular season. Having suffered their only conference loss to the first-place Falcons Sept. 10, Franklin (12-1) entered the contest just one match back from West (13-0), with a chance to share the M8 regular-season title.
Both teams looked evenly matched throughout the first set, matching each other shot-for-shot despite six points from Finley Moffitt. The deadlock continued until a 26-26 tie, before West won the last two points to break the home fans’ hearts.
Audrey Pressley came out firing in the second, scoring five points including four straight to give Franklin a 16-14 lead. West saved their best for last however, claiming 11 of the last 14 points to win 25-19.
Franklin regrouped to start the third, turning six more points from Pressley into a 13-7 lead. West then scored the next five to cut their deficit to one, but Franklin ultimately held on to win 25-20.
West kept their foot on the gas in the fourth however, claiming 11 of the first 14 and going on to win 25-13. The loss dropped Franklin’s final record to 22-3, where they ended the season as the 5A classification’s sixth-ranked team.
Three nights later the Panthers traveled to West for Round 1 of the conference tournament. As the conference’s second-place finisher, Franklin drew #7 East Henderson in the quarterfinals, having twice beaten the Eagles in straight sets.
Franklin once again looked like the better team early on, getting strong team defense and points from eight different Panthers to win the first set 25-14. They then carried their momentum into the second, turning seven points from Pressley into a 25-12 win.
East refused to go quietly in the third, matching Franklin point-for-point to tie the set at 15. The Panthers turned red-hot from there however, getting four points from Ella Raby to win the set 25-16.
In dispatching the Eagles, Franklin advanced to the conference semifinals, where they met third-place (10-4) Brevard after press time Oct. 13. The Panthers claimed both meetings with the Blue Devils this regular season, 3-1 at Brevard Aug. 26 and 3-0 on Tom Raby Court Sept. 18. If successful they’ll meet the winner of West vs. #4 Smoky Mountain in the Mountain Eight Conference Final Oct. 15.
After that they’ll prepare for the start of the 5A state playoffs, for which they’ll earn a first-round bye as one of the classification’s top 16 teams. They ended the year at #7 in the state rankings, just ahead of #8 West due to overall record (23-3).