Seven matches into the season, Panther volleyball remains undefeated.
After losing just one set through their first five matches, on the week of Aug. 28 Franklin faced two Mountain Seven Conference opponents, hosting Tuscola on Tom Raby Court and traveling to Pisgah to take on the Black Bears. With two more 3-0 wins, Bekah Brooks’ team improved to 3-0 in the conference and sit tied with North Henderson for first.
On Tuesday, Aug. 29, the Panthers welcomed Tuscola to Tom Raby Court for their second Mountain Seven match of the season. After losing just one set to the Mountaineers in 2022, Franklin had a streaky start to the match, dropping the first four points but winning the next eight to force an early Tuscola timeout. From there the Panthers kept building their lead, getting two aces from junior Emma Ledford and two points from junior Kyrah Bowles, including an impressive pinpoint shot to the far back corner. Up 19-10 following another Mountie timeout, junior Cali Queen added a pair of kills en route to a 25-12 first-set victory.
Despite dominating the first set, the Panthers had another hiccup in the second, again losing the first four points but clawing their way back to a 7-7 tie. The set remained neck-and-neck for the next several points, with two points apiece from Bowles and junior Ryan Green giving Franklin just a 14-12 lead. Suddenly, things turned on a dime however, as Franklin won 11 of the final 12 points behind two Bowles aces and two more kills from Queen.
Up 2-0, Queen stayed hot into the third, adding three more points to force a Mountaineer timeout up 9-5. Despite three more points from Bowles, Tuscola stayed within striking distance, calling timeout again down 20-15 to try and engineer a comeback. Ultimately, the Panthers would have none of it, getting two kills from senior Talley Kinsland to slam the door 25-18.
Two nights later, the team traveled to Canton for a Mountain Seven match with Pisgah. There, the Panthers took care of business for much of the first three sets.
“First game, we handled it pretty well and got a big jump out on them,” said Brooks of the trip to No. 1 Black Bear Drive. “Games two and three, we really had to fight for some points, and we had quite a few serve receive errors that we haven’t usually been having. So, we had to move a few little things around, but otherwise we made some great plays and worked together.”
Despite some uncharacteristic errors from what has been an excellent Panther back line, the first two sets were largely smooth sailing. Facing elimination in straight sets however, Pisgah mounted a dangerous-looking comeback attempt in the third.
“Game three, we got down pretty bad there, and my girls never gave up,” said Brooks. “We ended up coming back and tying it at 19-19, and it was kind of neck-and-neck all the way to 25. But, we made some smart plays and kept our serves in, and kind of put it to them. They dug up some things pretty well – honestly, better than I thought they would. But from our end, what we worked on yesterday with blocking and/or hitting way outside and making that middle move, they did it the best that they could, and they brought the energy even though that place was packed. I think we played well and we deserved a win.”
With a razor-thin 26-24 victory in Game 3, the Panthers won their 21st set of the season, having lost just one set 25-23 in their first match of the season with Robbinsville. Ahead of a huge match with North Henderson for Mountain Seven supremacy Sept. 5, Brooks said all she can do is to try and keep her team gounded.
“We’ve got to take it one game at a time, and the biggest game of the year is next,” said Brooks. “Our goal is to get North at some point and West [Henderson] at some point, and we have a chance to do that on Tuesday. So, these next two practices need to be super-focused to try to snag one of those teams.”