It’s been a good week for Panther volleyball.
After suffering just their second loss of the year at West Henderson, on the week of Sept. 15 they returned to Franklin for a three-match home stand, hosting Robbinsville, East Henderson and Brevard. With wins in all three including two in the Mountain Eight Conference, they improved their overall record to 16-2.
On Monday they hosted Robbinsville for a nonconference match on Tom Raby Court. Both teams looked evenly matched early on, sitting tied at 8 despite three straight kills from Ella Raby. From there Franklin slowly began to pull ahead, getting four points from Shelby Adams to win the set 25-21.
Franklin maintained their momentum in the second, claiming the first five points and never looking back. Raby exploded for eight kills in the set to win 25-10.
Robbinsville regrouped to start the third, sitting tied 8-8 despite tough defense from Carrie Holland. Franklin kept their foot on the gas however, getting five points from Audrey Pressley to win 25-13.
The next night the Panthers returned to Tom Raby Court for a Mountain Eight Conference rematch with East Henderson. Having shut out the Eagles three sets to none Aug. 21, Franklin again looked like the better team, leading the first set 11-2 behind five points from Pressley. Emma Hatch added three points and tough defense down the stretch to put the set on ice 25-11.
The Panthers kept rolling in the second, getting three more points from Raby to lead 11-5. Pressley added four kills down the stretch to win 25-15.
Franklin continued to dominate in the third, turning three kills from Halle Shields into a 9-2 lead. Pressley and Raby added three points apiece to win 25-11.
Two nights later they traveled to Western Carolina University for a special Thursday night triple-header with Panther football. After their JV counterparts defeated Brevard in straight sets (25-18, 25-16), the varsity team took the court at the Ramsey Activity Center for their own Mountain Eight Conference match with the Blue Devils.
Momentum swung back and forth to start the match, where Franklin built a 7-2 lead behind four points from Finley Moffitt, only for Brevard to tie the set at 14. Little separated the two teams for the next several points, until Franklin slowly pulled ahead to win 25-21.
Both teams stayed neck-and-neck deep into the second, sitting tied at 15 after four more points from Moffitt. Once again the Panthers played their best when it mattered, claiming the next five points and once again winning 25-21.
The third set looked much the same as the first two, with both teams tied in a 24-24 dead heat behind six points from Raby. From there a Pressley block put the Panthers ahead by one, before a kill by Hatch gave Franklin a thrilling match-point win.
In beating East and Brevard, Franklin improved their conference record to 8-1, where they ended the week in second place behind 9-0 West Henderson.