Panther volleyball is halfway through their regular season.
Starting Saturday, Sept. 6, Franklin faced a jam-packed week, playing six matches in five days including two in the Mountain Eight Conference. Despite a tough first-place showdown with West Henderson, they entered the second half of their season with a record of 13-2.
On Saturday morning, the team traveled to Shelby for an all-day tournament at Crest. Versus quality opponents Franklin doesn’t normally see on its schedule, a young Panther team gained valuable experience moving forward.
“It was the first tournament ever that Franklin – that I know of – has played in during the season,” said head coach Bekah Brooks of the trip to Cleveland County. “Over the years we kept saying, ‘How do [other teams] have so many games, and we can only get so many games on our schedule?’ Tournaments [count as] one game on your schedule, so it would just be like playing one team, but you can play up to four best-two-out-of-three matches in a day at a tournament.
We were supposed to play Crest last year; obviously we had the hurricane come through and we weren’t allowed to do that. We talked through the offseason, and it was the first time they had put on a tournament, which was really cool.”
While N.C. High School Athletic Association rules limit teams to 22 matches per regular season, they do provide an exception for tournaments with less than five matches per day, allowing teams to better prepare for their conference and playoff schedules. In a marathon day at Crest, the Panthers thoroughly impressed.
“We played Shelby the first game getting off the bus … and they were a little weaker. They had some people not show up … but was good for it to be our first game,” said Brooks. “Then we played R-S Central … and really, really played phenomenal. We took a couple of JVs with us that might join us sooner rather than later, depending on how things go, and they played well and mixed in well. We won that game, and then ended up playing East Gaston to solidify if we were going to play in the championship or play for third and fourth. That was a battle – they were a good team and did some great things – but we just had a lot of fire inside of us and played amazing.”
Through the tournament’s first three rounds Franklin bested all comers, winning each of their matches in straight sets to advance to the final. Versus the host team, the Panthers brought their day to a fitting end.
“We played Crest, and they were good, but I don’t know – we just had some sort of grit where we didn’t let a lot of things touch the floor, we were setting so many people and making kills and blocks and phenomenal plays, and ended up being the champions,” said Brooks. “[We were] the first-ever to do what they called ‘Claim the Crown,’ and got a nice plaque to put in the trophy case and medals for the girls, so that was really fun. It was a long day – a 16-hour day from start to finish – but we got to recoup a little bit on Sunday and go back to work on Monday.”
After claiming the tournament at Crest, on Tuesday, Sept. 9, the team returned to Tom Raby Court to host Smoky Mountain in a conference clash. There the Mustangs held their own early on, trailing just 11-8 despite three points apiece from Audrey Pressley and Ella Raby. From there the Panthers extended their lead, getting tough defense from Bristol Brooks throughout to win the first set 25-14.
The second set started in much the same way as the first, with Franklin up 11-7 behind two points apiece from Brooks and Emma Hatch. Once again the Panthers pulled away, getting two straight aces from Sadie Green to win 25-13.
Smoky hung tough to start the third, trailing just 16-13 despite five kills from Pressley. Franklin heated up down the stretch however, winning 25-16 behind four points and tough defense from Brooks and Finley Moffitt.
Having improved their M8 record to 6-0, the next night the Panthers traveled to West for another conference match. As last year’s 3A State Champions and Franklin’s chief rivals in the old Mountain Seven, the Falcons entered the contest tied with the Panthers for first.
Both teams looked evenly matched to start the first, with Franklin trailing 7-5 despite three straight points from Moffitt. West slowly tacked onto their lead however, winning the set 25-17 despite five points from Pressley.
Momentum swung wildly in the second, with Franklin trailing 15-8 then tying the set at 15 behind four points from Kamden Reis. From there Franklin kept rolling to a 24-22 lead, but dropped the last four points to lose the set 26-24.
Down two sets to none the Panthers regrouped in the third, turning three points from Raby into a 9-5 lead. Pressley added four points and dominant defense down the stretch to put the set on ice 25-21.
West responded in the fourth however, leading 13-9 despite an ace and tough defense from Lass Ward. From there the Falcons held the Panthers at bay, winning 25-18 despite three straight kills from Moffitt.
“We played well enough to win a set, but we did not play the game we’ve been playing,” said Brooks after the match. “As a coach, I take full responsibility – we will get better. Serve-receive killed us last night. We harped on that; I don’t know if it was nerves or what. … A loss can either make you better or break you. I truly believe starting today, it should make us better.”
After the loss at West, Franklin prepared for a busy week ahead, hosting matches with Robbinsville, East Henderson and Brevard. Versus Brevard, they’ll kick off a special Thursday night triple-header at Western Carolina University, featuring JV volleyball at 4:30 p.m. in the Ramsey Activity Center, varsity volleyball immediately thereafter, and varsity football in E.J. Whitmire Stadium at 7:30.