Lady Panther volleyball have played their last two matches of the regular season.
Against Murphy Oct. 11 and the Rabun Gap-Nacoochee School Oct. 12, Bekah Brooks’ had one final opportunity to build momentum ahead of the Mountain 7 Conference tournament the following week. Although Franklin fell to Murphy in Cherokee County Monday evening, they did pick up a blowout win over Rabun Gap the following evening.
Murphy built an early lead in the rematch of the Bulldogs’ 3-0 victory Aug. 24, looking solid on offense and defense to go up 9-4 and force a Brooks timeout. After the break Franklin tried to make up the deficit, but the Bulldogs made few mistakes and went on to take the set 25-11.
The Panthers looked much sharper to start the second, matching Murphy point-for-point with mistake-free volleyball to tie the score at 18-18. After a well-placed Anya Valentine shot forced a Murphy timeout however, the Bulldogs doubled their efforts, winning seven of the next nine points to take the set 25-20.
Murphy carried their momentum into the third, building a 5-1 lead in the opening minutes. From there the Panthers steadily battled back, capitalizing off a few Bulldog errors to cut their deficit to 11-7. The Bulldogs won the next three points however, somewhat stunting the Panthers’ momentum and forcing a Brooks timeout. After the break the Panthers went on a mini-run, getting several quality kills from junior Andrea Terrell and freshman Cali Queen to cut their deficit to 19-15. Murphy’s advantage would prove too great however, and the Bulldogs went on to win the set 24-18.
After falling to the Bulldogs in Murphy, the following night the Panthers returned to FHS for a Senior Night matchup with the Rabun Gap-Nacoochee School. Ahead of the match, Brooks’ staff pulled out all the stops to honor seniors Makayla Barnes, Anya Valentine, Corey Burrell, Bethany Jenkins, Karli McMahan and Sydney Williams.
“We surprised them with this amazing senior meal in the lobby, so they got to eat with their team,” said Brooks of the team’s pre-match preparation. “We provided the food, the décor, and of course the big Fatheads [giant cardboard cutouts of the six seniors’ faces] are always a hit. We surprised them with that around 3 o’clock and played some music, and they just got to have a sit-down meal with their friends. … We got to gift them with a gift card basket that they can use when they go to college or around here, and I always do a picture blanket [full-sized blankets printed with a photo collage of each senior], so they got those. … It’s a lot of effort that goes into that night, but I’d do it five times over for them if I had to.”
Following their team-only pre-match meal, the Panthers welcomed fans into Tom Raby Court for their last home match of the season, but Brooks had one more special moment for her seniors in store. For the match’s first point, all six Panther seniors took the floor together, with Barnes, Burrell and McMahan on the back row and Williams, Valentine and Jenkins at the net.
The unique lineup was especially significant for outside hitter Sydney Williams, who after an excellent junior season in 2020-21 tore her ACL playing basketball this summer. Although the senior has still not fully healed from the tear, Brooks was determined not to let the injury rob Williams of her entire senior year, and the plan worked better than either could have hoped – despite only being able to move at a walking pace, the senior actually recorded the match’s first point on a well-placed shot to the Eagles’ back line. The shot sent a packed house into a frenzy, and the stage was set for a big Panther victory.
From there the Panthers simply outclassed the Eagles, even getting a Williams ace to take a 7-3 early lead. After forcing an Eagle timeout up 16-6, the Panthers got a superb diving dig from McMahan to continue their momentum and went on to take the set 25-17.
Rabun Gap looked sharper to begin the second, using solid play at the net to hold Franklin to a narrow 7-6 early lead. The teams remained neck-and-neck for the next several minutes, with Rabun eventually knotting the set at 15-15. The Panthers shut the door on the Eagles however, getting solid serves from McMahan and Barnes to take the second set 25-21.
Rabun Gap continued to hit well into the third, playing the Panthers to a 4-4 tie in the opening minutes. Franklin soon turned up the heat however, getting an Avery Moffitt ace to go up 16-9 and force an Eagle timeout. After the break Rabun made a mini-comeback attempt, cutting their deficit to 24-19, but a Burrell kill put the set on ice to give the Panthers a 3-0 win.
After dispatching Rabun Gap in their final home match of the season, the Panthers began preparation for the first round of the Mountain 7 Conference tournament, to be played the following Monday, Oct. 18. As the sixth seed in the conference due to their 4-8 M7 record, the Panthers travelled to third-seeded Pisgah for a win-or-go-home clash. The Press will report on the match’s result in the Oct. 27 edition.