Panther volleyball has picked up two more wins on its path to the Mountain Six Conference tournament.
In a match against East Henderson at Tom Raby court Dec. 15, the Lady Panthers hosted the Eagles after beating them on their home floor in November. Early goings were tightly contested, with both teams trading points throughout the first set. Franklin matched the Eagles’ sound fundamentals with strong play at the net led by senior blocker Canaan Drake, and the teams sat tied at 12 at the set’s midway point. Following a Sydney Williams kill, the Panthers began to gain some footing, taking eight of the next 12 points to bring the score to 20-16 and force a timeout from Eagles coach Sabrina Cairnes. Following the timeout, the Eagles found some momentum of their own, winning five of the next seven to pull within one at 22-21 and force a Franklin timeout. On the ensuing point East Henderson blocked a Canaan Drake spike and the mood in the gym reached a fever pitch, but two Eagles errors put Franklin up again 24-22. Drake rocketed a spike past the Eagles’ back line two plays later to put the set on ice 25-23.
The second set began more quickly for the Panthers, with Drake again dominating the net on both defense and offense. Franklin stayed a step ahead of the Eagles in the set, jumping out to a 3-0 lead and maintaining a similar advantage throughout the game’s first half. With the Panthers up 15-12, an Eagles error forced a Cairnes timeout, and the team looked sharper on the next few points. The Panthers kept their foot on the gas, however, converting multiple Eagles errors and strong play at the net to keep East Henderson at bay. Fittingly, a Canaan Drake block put the set away 25-20.
The third set started reasonably close for the Panthers, who slowly built a 4-1 lead into a 9-15 advantage before an Eagles timeout. Setter Rylee Corbin continued her solid defense against East Henderson and throughout the season, oftentimes laying out to prevent balls from hitting the floor. After the timeout the Eagles made things interesting, winning five straight to come within one at 14-15. Not wanting to let the match stretch to a fourth set, the Panthers again turned on the heat. After the timeout Franklin won nine straight points led by savvy attacking from blocker Anya Valentine and took the set 15-25. After the game coach Bekah Brooks said she was proud of her players’ efforts led by a stellar night from Drake.
“Canaan Drake, my God, played phenomenal,” she said. “We could have called it the Drake show, but our passes were great, great, great, great tonight. I hounded that on Friday and Monday, and I wouldn’t lay off of them about passes – that the passes had to be perfect to the setters so that we can get those hits. The blocking and the hitting were phenomenal, the morale was great, JV was great; it was a great night.”
Hard-fought win at Pisgah
Two nights after dispatching East Henderson, the Lady Panthers travelled to Canton for a date with the Pisgah Black Bears in a match that featured drama and white-knuckle action. The first set was tame compared to the ones that came after it, as a close set in the early points quickly turned into a big Panther lead. The Black Bears had little answer for FHS blockers led by Taylor Ensley, who turned well-placed passes from back line players like Amy Tippett and Rylee Corbin into red-hot attacks throughout the night. Pisgah coach Heidi Morgan called timeouts down 10-4 and 17-7 but was unable to stem the tide, and the Lady Panthers took the set 25-9.
When the second set began with an Amy Tippett ace and a Canaan Drake block it looked for a moment like Franklin would cruise to a 2-0 lead. Refusing to go quietly though, the Black Bears battled back, winning eight of the next 10 points to bring the score to 8-4. The teams traded points for the next several minutes until a 3-0 Panther run brought FHS within three at 16-13, forcing a Pisgah timeout. After the stoppage Franklin continued to gain ground behind a dominant Ensley, who at one point tallied five of six Panther points.
With the score tied 19-19, the Bears rattled off three straight, jeopardizing FHS’s comeback attempt and forcing Brooks to call a timeout of her own. After the break the Panthers caught fire, quickly turning the three-point deficit into a one-point lead with high-flying play at the net. In all, the Panthers would take six of the last seven points to escape with a narrow 25-23 victory.
Bolstered by their frantic come-from-behind victory, FHS carried momentum into the third set, racing out to an 8-2 lead led by Drake’s play at the net. After a Pisgah timeout the game leveled out a bit as the teams traded points, but Franklin’s lead held steady around six points throughout the set. A second timeout could not stop the bleeding for the Black Bears, and the Panthers took five of the final six points to wrap up the set 25-15. After the match Brooks said she was proud of the resilience her team had shown to keep fighting in the second set.
“Taylor Ensley hit lights out,” she said. “Every time she hit, she just put it where they weren’t. I think they only dug up one of her balls. Canaan hit well and was very smart at the net. We’ve been really focused on passes, and I thought they were so much better at hitting Rylee on the net. We had some good blocks, and even when we were down I never looked up and saw anybody down on themselves. Everybody was kind of picking each other up, which is all about the team, and I really, really liked seeing that.”