A historic year is at an end for Panther volleyball.
After defeating West Henderson in the Mountain Eight Tournament Final, on the week of Oct. 20 the team dove into the state playoffs. With wins over Enka and North Lincoln they set a program single-season record, before finally falling to Carson in the state quarterfinal.
By way of a sterling 25-3 record, the Panthers entered the playoffs as the state’s sixth-ranked 5A team, earning the 5A West Region’s #3 seed and a first-round bye. On Saturday, Oct. 18, they awaited results of a first-round match between #14 Enka and #19 Erwin, in which Enka prevailed 3-0.
On Tuesday the Panthers hosted Enka in Round 2, a rematch of their 3-0 win over the Jets this regular season. Franklin came out firing in the first set, scoring eight of its first nine points led by Audrey Pressley and Finley Moffitt. From there Enka came back to cut Franklin’s lead to 15-13, but the Panthers claimed 10 of the last 11 to win 25-14.
The Jets hung tough to start the second, trailing 12-9 despite tough defense from Bristol Brooks. Once again the Panthers pulled away however, getting six more points from Moffit to win 25-16.
Enka doubled their efforts in the third, battling Franklin to a 17-17 tie. This time the Jets were the better team down the stretch, winning 25-21 despite four points from Emma Hatch.
Little separated the two teams in the fourth, who sat tied at 21 despite six points from Ella Raby. Franklin saved their best for last however, getting points from four different Panthers to win 25-22.
“That was crazy. It feels so good … I can’t even explain the feeling,” said opposite hitter Carrie Holland after the match. Having lost the third set and been in danger of losing the fourth, the senior credited her teammates for staying composed. “We just regrouped and focused on what we could do and not about the other team, and just played our game and didn’t worry about anything else.”
In dispatching Enka, the Panthers advanced to the tournament’s third round, hosting #6 North Lincoln two nights later. Despite a nearly three-hour trip, the Knights brought with them a large and boisterous crowd, creating an electric atmosphere on Tom Raby Court.
The visitors came out firing in the first, winning five of the first six points to quiet the home fans. Franklin soon turned red-hot from the service area however, racking up eight aces including three from Shelby Adams to win the set 25-15.
The Panthers kept rolling in the second, getting four points from Raby to take the lead 13-5. Pressley added five points down the stretch to win 25-17.
The Knights regrouped to start the third, taking the lead 13-9 despite two aces from Brooks. From there two Pressley kills helped tie the set at 14 for Franklin, but the Knights held on to win 25-19.
The two sides engaged in a dogfight to start the fourth, sitting tied at 14 despite four more points from Raby. Slowly the Knights began to pull away however, winning 25-19.
Tied two sets to two, both teams stayed neck-and-neck in the fifth, matching each other point-for-point as the crowd reached a fever pitch. Tied 12-12, Moffitt caught fire in the biggest moment, scoring Franklin’s last three points to win 15-13 and send the home fans into a frenzy.
“Oh man, it feels amazing – it’s surreal. I mean, to get into the fourth round as a sophomore is just amazing,” said Bristol Brooks after the match, having led a stellar back-row effort all year with Adams, Lass Ward and Anna Stiles. “We just came together and we said we had to play our game, and we’ve got to worry about us and not about everything around us – not about the line judges, not about the refs, not about the fans – we’ve got to worry about us. … I think if we play our game, we can go as far as we want to.”
After defeating North Lincoln, the Panthers geared up for the 5A state quarterfinals, traveling to face #2 Carson Oct. 25. There the Cougars lived up to their billing.
“Sadly, we picked the wrong day to not play our best,” said head coach Bekah Brooks of the trip to China Grove. “We played well – well enough to keep the score close – and I definitely wouldn’t say it was our worst, but we just did not play up to our best, which hurts. ... I’ve already made a list of things I would change if we’re ever in that position again, and that’s part of life – you just live and you learn, and you have to move on.”
Versus a veteran team in their second straight trip to the state quarterfinals, the Panthers kept each set close against the Cougars, but ultimately fell 25-18, 25-22, 25-21. In so doing they finished with 27 wins and four losses, setting a program record for victories in a single year. With just two seniors on the roster (Holland and defensive specialist Maggie Shields, who’s battled a season-long knee injury), Brooks credited her team for defying all expectations.
“[Whether you win] that game or not – fourth round, regional finals, state championship – for the longest time, you think of those things and you dream of them,” she said. “When we started this year I knew we were super-young ... and so when we started making our goals we knew we would love to be a conference champion, or split in the top two. That’s always a goal, and obviously you want to go to the playoffs, and then our goal was to go past the second round – if we go farther, great. The ultimate goal as a coach and the dream from here is to win a state championship ... that will be on our list next year, because they know they can do it.”
“Twenty-seven wins is the most ever in volleyball history at Franklin High School, and so we’re going to paint it above the door going out of the locker room. They know that’s the goal or higher, and we don’t want to be anything under that.”