FRANKLIN, Ind. – The Franklin College volleyball team was back in action inside the Spurlock Center on Saturday (Jan. 30) afternoon, taking on the Anderson Ravens in a pair of contests.

The opening match saw the Grizzlies (1-3, 1-1 HCAC) win one of the longest sets in recent memory in the opener, eventually besting the Ravens (1-3, 0-2 HCAC) in four sets. The final match of the day went the distance and was another thriller, with the Ravens earning a split via a five-set win.

The star of the day for the Grizzlies was sophomore attacker Taylor Tatlock, who put away 33 kills in her first two starts as a Grizzly. Kyndall Boyll added 28 kills on the afternoon for Franklin, which included a team-high 17 in the opening contest. 

Match One: Franklin 3 – Anderson 1
The two sides were neck-and-neck from the first serve and after four lead changes and six ties, the game sat knotted up at 17 late. But three straight Grizzly points off Morgan Curtis serves gave Franklin the boost they needed to close out the first set and take a 25-20 win.

That opening set laid the ground work for a wild second set that featured 10 lead changes and an eye-popping 21 ties. Franklin jumped out to an early 10-5 lead but Anderson would rally and held an 18-16 advantage late in the set. From then on, the two sides traded points well past the normal 25 points it takes to win. But in the end, the Grizzlies capitalized on a Boyll kill and Anderson attack error to win the second set by a 36-34 count.

The Ravens fought off defeat with a 25-22 win in the third set, but ran out of gas in the fourth set. Franklin hit .320 in the fourth game and had four service aces to polish off in a 25-13 set win to polish off their first conference victory.

In addition to Boyll, both Tatlock (15 kills) and Sara Allen (10 kills) put down double-digit kills. Sofia Helton had 45 assists and a team-leading five aces. Defensively, Curtis had 21 digs to lead all players while Boyll (14) and Helton (12) hit double figures in digs to record double-doubles.

Match Two: Anderson 3 – Franklin 2
Franklin picked up where they left off in the opener, dominating the first set by a 25-11 score. Franklin put down 14 kills and hit .361 in the opening game, forcing eight Anderson attack errors along the way. Set two was another nail biter, with the Ravens grabbing the final four points to take a 25-23 win.

The Grizzlies controlled play for the majority of the third set, taking a sizeable lead early on and rolling to a 25-17 victory and put themselves one set away from a sweep. But Anderson fought back to take a 25-20 win in the fourth set and captured a thrilling 19-17 fifth game to salvage a split.

Tatlock turned in another dominant performance, burying 18 kills and hitting .310 in the match. Both Helton and Savanna VanHoy handed out 23 assists while Boyll and Curtis tied for the top spot with 19 digs each.

Franklin hits the road for the first time on Tuesday (Feb. 2), traveling north to face the Manchester Spartans for two contests. First serve of game one is set for 6:00 p.m.