NORTH MANCHESTER, Ind. – The Franklin volleyball team headed north for a pair of Saturday (Sept. 22) matches, opening conference play against Manchester ahead of an afternoon meeting with Baldwin Wallace.

The opening match was a tightly-contested match, but Manchester (4-8) was able to take the conference-opener in four sets. The afternoon session saw the Grizzlies (5-9) fall in straight sets to Baldwin Wallace (17-1).

Down by a set in the opener, the Grizzlies were in danger of falling behind by two games as Manchester held a two-point lead late in game two. But the Grizzlies would rally thanks to kills by Jenna Spini and Abigail Sewell, an ace from Timber Falin and a Manchester attack error to close out a 25-23 win.

But the Spartans would re-take the lead in the third set, picking up six of the last nine points for a 25-23 win. Set four saw the hosts control play from the start on their way to a 25-15 game four win.

The afternoon session saw the Grizzlies hit just .059 as the Yellow Jackets controlled the pace of play on their way to set wins of 25-10, 25-9, 25-18.

Spini topped the Grizzlies with 14 kills on the day, notching back-to-back matches with seven put-aways. Sewell was right behind her with 13 kills, racking up 10 in the opener against Manchester. Mackenzie Waldran handed out 48 assists on the day, including a 30-assist performance in the opener. Libby Stahl dug up 30 attack attempts and Falin led the Grizzlies with three blocks on the day.

Franklin will be back in action at home on Tuesday (Sept. 25) night, taking on Defiance College in their first home conference match of the season. First serve from the Spurlock Center is set for 7:30 p.m.