Panther volleyball’s quest for a second straight conference title will soon begin.
On Tuesday, July 30, the reigning Mountain Seven Champions traveled to Smoky Mountain for the Mustangs’ annual day of preseason scrimmages. There Franklin locked horns with five WNC opponents, ahead of their first official day of practice July 31. Sports Editor’s note: because the day’s schedule overlapped with our Tuesday deadline, I was only able to cover two of Franklin’s five scrimmages.
In the first scrimmage of the day, the Panthers took the court for 25 minutes of continuous action with Robbinsville. Franklin’s seniors outclassed the Black Knights throughout the period, with Cali Queen and McKenna Plemmons scoring multiple points apiece off serves, while Kyrah Bowles and Aubrey Haley looked sharp at the net on both sides of the ball.
In their second scrimmage of the day, Franklin faced a more worthy opponent in Hayesville. After watching their senior teammates dominate Robbinsville, Franklin’s underclassmen looked sharp versus the Yellow Jackets, with Bristol Brooks and Finley Moffitt scoring several points on indefensible shots. Queen, Bowles and Plemmons carried Franklin through the home stretch, with the Panthers seeming to outscore Hayesville slightly overall.
After more scrimmages versus Andrews, Murphy and T.C. Roberson, the Panthers returned to Franklin to prepare for a busy day ahead. On the first official day of the N.C. High School Athletic Association fall season July 31, coaches Bekah Brooks, Cindy Harrell and Alex Buchanan held team tryouts to finalize their varsity and JV rosters. Franklin will host a dual preseason scrimmage on Tom Raby Court Thursday, Aug. 8 from 6 to 8 p.m., with Harrell’s JV team taking on Highlands and Brooks’ varsity team scrimmaging Cherokee. The Panthers open their regular season at Swain County Aug. 12.