Box Score FRANKLIN, Ind. – The Franklin College volleyball team will be hanging on to the prestigious Golden Ball trophy for a little while after the Grizzlies swept rival Hanover College on Wednesday (Feb. 17) inside the Spurlock Center.
The Grizzlies (8-4, 5-2 HCAC) bested the Panthers (9-5, 4-4 HCAC) for the first time since 2013, dominating the first two sets before winning a thrilling final game 25-16, 25-20, 25-23. The Grizzlies were paced offensively by a pair of seniors in Abby Sewell and Kyndall Boyll, with Sewell's 14 kills and .423 hitting percentage leading all players and Boyll adding 10 kills of her own.
Franklin controlled the opening set from the first serve with Sofia Helton's match-opening ace giving the Grizzlies lead they wouldn't let go of. Franklin took seven of the open set's first 10 points and led by as many as 12 points before closing out the opening game. The Grizzlies were bolstered by an offense that hit .158 and a defense that turned back three Hanover attacks.
Boyll opened the second set with a kill as Franklin surged out to another 7-3 lead. The home side's lead would climb as high as seven points before the Panthers began to mount a run. Five straight Hanover points brought the two teams even at 18-18, but Franklin shook off the run in dominant fashion with a 7-2 run to close out the second game.
Game three started in similar fashion to the first two, with the Grizzlies grabbing the first three points and 10 of the first 14. But a furious Hanover rally not only kept the final set from getting out of hand, but pulled the Panthers in front 19-18 following a 7-1 run. Down the stretch featured six ties and a pair of lead changes, but a kill from Boyll and a tandem rejection from Sara Allen and Chloe Holder gave Franklin the match's deciding two points.
All that was left for the Grizzlies was to claim the trophy that had evaded their grasp for seven years.
Franklin hit .196 as a team, finishing with 40 kills in total. Helton had a great night running the offense from the setter spot, assisting on 35 points and adding a career-best seven aces. Junior Allison Thompson led all players with 19 digs, becoming the latest member of the 1,000-dig club with her 17th of the evening. Sewell had another strong game at the front of the net, adding five blocks to go along with her performance on offense.
The Grizzlies will head out on the road for the final time in the regular season on Saturday (Feb. 20), heading to Richmond, Ind. to meet the Earlham Quakers. First serve of the first match is set for 1:00 p.m.
