Franklin High School’s volleyball team picked up two more wins on their quest for a Mountain Six Title.
In a game against Pisgah at Coach Tom Raby Court Dec. 1, the Lady Panthers sought their first home win after three consecutive away games, and Franklin’s cheerleaders and JV players made sure to make the gym loud.
The first set started slow for the Panthers, with the Black Bears jumping out to an early 4-0 lead. Franklin quickly fought back however, tying the game at 9-9 behind great serves from blocker Canaan Drake and defensive specialist Makayla Barnes. The game remained tight for several points, with both teams going back and forth to tie the game at 15. After a Franklin serve sailed out put the Black Bears up 16-15, the Panthers went on a 3-0 run capped by a Taylor Ensley kill to bring the score to 18-15 and force a Pisgah timeout. The Panthers kept their foot on the gas and took the first game 25-19.
FHS started out fast in the second game, racing to a 6-1 lead before Pisgah battled back to bring the score to 7-6. From there the game was all Franklin, with blockers Ensley and Anya Valentine taking turns controlling the net. The Panthers ran away with the game 25-12.
In the third set Franklin continued their momentum, with Drake scoring or serving on the Panthers’ first five points. The early goings were close until an Ensley kill put Franklin up 6-4, and FHS went on to take the set 25-11. After the game head coach Bekah Brooks said she was proud of her players’ effort as a team.
“Well, we started out maybe a little rocky on our end,” she said. “Great server for them to begin with, but I felt like that we played a lot of team [volleyball] tonight and didn’t care who got the credit. Each set everybody was different on who was on and who was a little bit off. I felt like for each set they were very receptive of that and just gave it to the people that were scoring. That was the key is that we want to score, and we don’t care who gets it.”
With their first home win of 2020 secure, two nights later the Lady Panthers hosted Smoky Mountain in a match the Panther Sports Network dubbed “The Battle of Cowee Mountain.” After a thrilling finish to the JV game, in which the Panthers took the deciding set 15-13, the Panther den was primed for an exciting match, and the two teams didn’t disappoint.
Franklin started hot in the first game, stifling the Mustangs with good all-around defense to force a Smoky timeout with the Panthers up 10-3. FHS continued its solid play, winning the next five points en route to a 25-15 first game. The second game started close with both teams deadlocked 4-4-4, but again the Panthers’ blockers took control of the net, jumping out to an 11-6 lead behind red-hot spikes from Ensley and Valentine. After a Sydney Williams kill forced a Smoky Mountain timeout with the score at 8-12, the Mustangs rallied back, winning seven of the next 11 points to pull within one at 15-16. FHS refused to let the game slip away, however, winning seven straight points on the way to a 25-16 game.
The Panthers carried that momentum into the third game, riding a fast start to a 9-2 lead. For a moment it looked like the Panthers might sweep the match 3 sets to none, but the Mustangs slowly clawed their way back to tie the score at 11-11. The Panthers couldn’t seem to put things together in the third set, with FHS defenders unable to dig several hard Mustang attacks. The Panthers’ offense could not pick up the slack and FHS would drop the game 25-15.
“The first two games we played lights out, but we kind of lay down in the third game,” said Brooks. “I think a lot of it was that we were putting our attention elsewhere, trying to worry more about what they were doing. That’s what’s [given] us our only loss right now is being worried about what the other team’s doing instead of just doing our job. … We did have to suffer a little loss there, but I just challenged them to be Franklin, be who we were in the first two games, and have each other’s backs.”
With Franklin up two sets to one, the fourth set was an instant classic. Early goings were back and forth, with good Smoky Mountain serves meeting their match in the Panthers’ defense (Williams and setter Rylee Corbin played well both in the set and throughout the night, combining heads-up defense with pinpoint attacks). After both teams played to a 9-9 draw, Smoky Mountain gained some traction, taking six of the next seven points to go up 15-10. Franklin would answer with a rally of its own, climbing back within 1 until a Drake kill forced a Mustang timeout with the score at 15-14.
The teams traded blows for the next several points, bringing the score to 21-21 as the Panther Den reached a fever pitch. On the next point the Mustangs hit a ball out, and a huge Corbin ace then brought the score to 23-21, forcing a Smoky Mountain timeout. Another Mustang ball hit out, and a Tori Ensley kill sealed the game and the match, 25-21. After the match Brooks said she was proud of her team for playing the week’s games with facemasks, which were mandated for all players by the North Carolina High School Athletic Association days before the season. Despite the headaches and difficulty breathing reported by several Franklin players, the team is looking forward to the second half of the regular season.
“You had a couple of girls say that their head was hurting, or they were shaking, or they had to bend over to even gasp for air,” she said. “It’s hard to hear as a coach, but I’m proud of them. That was the first round through [Franklin’s
Mountain Six opponents], and we have one loss. … We’ll go to Hendersonville and see if there’s a different outcome – hopefully a win.”