DEFIANCE, Ohio – The Franklin College volleyball team looked to cap off a perfect week with two matches on Saturday (Feb. 6) afternoon against the Defiance Yellow Jackets.

Facing a two-sets-to-one deficit in the opening matchup, the Grizzlies (6-3, 4-1 HCAC) fought off defeat to stun the Yellow Jackets (3-6, 2-3 HCAC) in five sets 21-25, 25-23, 21-25, 25-22, 15-8 and earn their fourth straight conference victory. Franklin would ride that momentum to an easier win in the night cap, downing Defiance in three 25-15, 25-23, 25-12. 

Match One: Franklin 3 – Defiance 2
After struggling on the attack in the opening set, the Grizzlies' hitters started to find their groove in game two. Franklin raced out to a 7-2 lead in the second contest and held a comfortable advantage until late when the Yellow Jackets ripped off six straight points to tie things at 22. But Franklin rebounded in kind, getting a Kyndall Boyll kill and two points off Defiance errors to even things up.

Defiance claimed the third match with a late push to move one set closer to victory, but Franklin took control of the fourth set with seven straight points to being to contest. Defiance would fight their way back and even things up at 15, but the Grizzlies dug in down the stretch, ending the game with a Chloe Holder kill.

The Grizzlies turned to their attackers in the deciding set, with Franklin picking up nine points via kill against just one attacking error. Boyll put the exclamation point on the win with a thunderous kill, giving her 13 in the match.

Boyll wasn't the only Grizzly to hit double figures in kills, as she was joined by career days from a pair of freshmen. Sara Allen lit up the Yellow Jacket defense with 18 kills against just three errors for a .341 hitting percentage. Reagan Egbert's 15 kills set a new career-high, as did her 23 digs that notched her a third straight double-double.

Sofia Helton had 47 assists, a team-leading three aces and added 15 digs for her second straight double-double. Allison Thompson had a day leading the Grizzly defense, digging up a career-high 34 attempts. Holder led all net-front defenders with seven total blocks.

Match Two: Franklin 3 – Defiance 0
Defiance jumped out to an 8-4 lead in the opening set, but momentum shifted shortly after as Franklin ripped off 11 straight points to take control of a set they would win with ease. Once again, it was the Grizzlies' offense that set the tone, as they hit .357 in the game with 13 kills.

Holding a 6-2 lead early in the second set, the Grizzlies got a test from their hosts with taking their first lead of the second match early on. A 6-1 Franklin run mid-way through the game ended up being the deciding run, and back-to-back kills from Holder and Grace Laker finished off the set to put the Griz ahead by two games.

Franklin ran away with the third set early, taking advantage of 11 Defiance attack errors in the final game to seal the sweep.

Holder had six blocks and eight kills with no errors on just 13 attack attempts for a .615 hitting percentage. Thompson's 13 digs led all Franklin players with Savanna VanHoy's 16 assists topping the squad.

Franklin is back in action on Wednesday (Feb. 10) night, when they welcome the Transylvania Pioneers to the Spurlock Center. First serve in the opening match is set for 6:00 p.m.