Defiance, Ohio - The Franklin College volleyball team secured a berth in the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference (HCAC) tournament with a five-set victory over Defiance College (25-20, 24-26, 18-25, 25-20, 15-13) on Saturday afternoon. The team will conclude the regular season on Sunday, November 1, at 1 p.m. at Bluffton University.

A victory by the Grizzlies (16-13, 5-3 HCAC) on Sunday would secure the team sole possession of third place and the No. 3 seed in next week's conference tournament. A setback would put the team in a third-place tie with Transylvania University and Defiance College in the HCAC standings. The No. 3 and 4 seeds will host a first-round conference tournament match on Wednesday, November 4.

Franklin rallied from a 2-1 set deficit to pick up the victory.

Senior Emily Young (Avon, Ind./Avon) registered a career-high 21 kills to lead the offensive attack at Defiance. She posted seven kills in the fourth set as the visitors forced the deciding fifth set.

Senior Mackenzie Wieneke (Seymour, Ind./Seymour) led the defensive unit with 36 digs. She also had a team-high two serving aces. Wieneke recorded her 2,000 career dig in the match to become the first player in program history to accomplish the feat. The libero leads all NCAA Division III players in digs this season.

Senior Kourtney Settle (Vallonia, Ind./Brownstown Central) had 10 kills, while sophomore Amanda Lelivelt (Chippewa Falls, Wis./Riverside Brookfield) added nine kills.

Junior Ashley Bazier (Terre Haute, Ind./Terre Haute South) helped distribute the offensive attack with 43 assists. She also posted 20 digs defensively. Franklin had four players reach double figures in digs for the match.

Sophomore Libby Stahl (Indianapolis, Ind./Roncalli) tallied 15 digs, while senior Theresa Brown (Indianapolis, Ind./Franklin Central) added 11 digs for the Grizzlies.

Live statistics of Sunday's match at Bluffton will be available HERE.