Franklin High School has hosted its first official sporting event of 2020.
After eight months of restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic, FHS volleyball opened its season last week with Franklin’s first regular-season competitions in any sport.
In an electric atmosphere in the FHS gym on Monday, Nov. 16, the Panthers came out fighting in the first set against Hendersonville. Early goings were back and forth, with blockers Canaan Drake, Anya Valentine, Taylor Ensley and Sydney Williams forming a wall over the Franklin net. The two teams traded points for the game’s first half to bring the score to 11-11, until the Panthers forced a few Bearcat errors to pull ahead 14-18. Franklin wrapped up the game to bring the score to 1-0.
The second game began less favorably for the Panthers, who fell behind 3-0 and then 9-4. The teams largely traded points until Hendersonville scored to bring the total to 20-12. Coach Bekah Brooks then called timeout with the hopes of sparking a rally, but the Panthers were unable to climb back and dropped the game 25-15.
The third game began in much the same way as the first, with both teams trading spikes until the score sat even at 7. Henderson would rattle off seven of the next eight points however, forcing Brooks to call timeout with the Panthers down 14-8. FHS started hot after the timeout to bring the score to 15-12, but were unable to hang on and dropped the game 25-15.
Down two games to one, Franklin came out firing in the fourth. The set started close with the Panthers taking a 4-3 lead and winning four of the next five to go up 8-4. This would be the final lead of the night for the Panthers though, as Hendersonville rattled off seven straight points to bring the score to 11-8. The imbalance continued until the Bearcats were up 19-10. The Panthers refused to go quietly, though, mounting a rapid comeback that forced Hendersonville to call timeout up just 22-18. The deficit would prove to be too great though, as the Bearcats shut the door to win 25-19. After the game Brooks said that while Franklin matches up well with Hendersonville, an early Mountain Six Conference contender, in terms of talent, the Panthers committed a few too many errors in their first game back from the COVID-19 shutdowns:
“I think that we tried to overdo it,” said Brooks. “I think we worried more about what they were doing than what we should have been doing. Not taking care of little things and free balls out listen suburbs. I ended the game on ‘just be yourself.’ We need to be the Franklin Panthers. And I think that we will do 10 times better if we worry about ourselves.”
Bouncing back in second match
While the first match ended in disappointment, Thursday’s away contest at Brevard was anything but. After two days of productive practices following the loss, the Panthers found their stride against the Blue Devils, navigating a marathon first game to secure a razor-thin 31-29 win. FHS eliminated many of the errors that had plagued them in the first game, combining imposing blocking, crisp passing, and spot-on serves that left few holes in the Panthers’ game.
After such a long and closely contested first game, Franklin seemed to have all the momentum, parlaying their solid play into a decisive second set win. Things got interesting in the third set, however, as the Blue Devils started strong to get out to an 18-14 lead. Wanting to end the match without having to play a fourth set, the Panthers made a comeback of their own, taking eight of the next ten points to go up 20-22. With their backs against the wall Brevard fought back to tie the game until a last-ditch play by FHS sealed the match for the Panthers.
“The point that made us tied, I think it was 24-24, we had a bump-set-hit, sent it over, block, and it came down,” said Brooks. “I don’t teach this, but from the back line Makayla Barnes basically saved the game and made a one-armed behind the back save over the net, and we won that point.”
After Barnes’ spectacular save brought the game to 25-24, the Blue Devils committed a double hit (a type of foul in which a player touches the ball twice in a row) and forfeited the ensuing point, bringing the score to 26-24 to hand the Panthers the match 3-0.
In taking care of business against Brevard, the Panthers got back on track in a week in which they faced two of the top teams in the Mountain Six. Although no fans were allowed in the Brevard gym, Brooks said the Panthers’ bench made it sound like a full house.
“Just the leadership from the floor to the bench, I mean, you’re sitting in a gym with no fans,” said Brooks. “You have not one person there besides the people that came with you cheering for you, and the JV team for this varsity game and vice versa. The [noise coming from] the bench was astronomical, and it helps it helps when those girls look over there. … It was like 1,000 people in the gym.”