JACKSONVILLE, Ill. – The Franklin College volleyball team got the regular season started on Friday (Sept. 2) night, taking on Westminster (Mo.) and Illinois College on night one of the Illinois College Invitational.
 
The Grizzlies (1-1) rebounded from a loss in the opening game to Westminster with a sweep of the weekend host Illinois College to close out the night.
 
Match One: Westminster 3 – Franklin 0
The opening set started off great for Franklin, as they claimed the first four points and opened up a 10-4 advantage. But the lead would slowly whittle away and Westminster ripped off a 7-0 run to turn a 20-17 deficit into an eventual 25-21 game one win.
 
The Blue Jays carried that momentum the rest of the match, finishing the sweep with back-to-back 25-18 wins.
 
Franklin hit .134 as a team with Miranda Wilson's eight kills leading the attack. Billie Jarrett passed out 16 assists and Chloe Holder put down a career-high six service aces for the Grizzlies.
 
Match Two: Franklin 3 – Illinois College 0
The Grizzlies held the lead early and kept it until late in the first set, when an 8-1 Lady Blue run flipped the lead to 23-21 in the host's favor. With the Lady Blues holding set point, Franklin rallied with four straight points to close out the set and earn a 26-24 victory.
 
Game two saw the Grizzlies take the lead on the first point and hold it for the rest of set. Franklin would lead by as many as with back-to-back aces from Jarrett closing out a 25-19 victory. The final set was a back-and-forth battle that once again saw the Grizzlies staring down an IC set point at 24-23. Two straight kills from Wilson put the Griz back in front and they snatched the final two points to win 27-25 and finish the sweep.
 
Wilson had a huge game two, putting down a team-high 12 kills and finishing with a .476 hitting percentage. Holder added 10 kills and Kaitlyn Lavy chipped in with nine kills for an FC offense that hit .190 and had at least 13 kills in all three sets.
 
Jarrett handed out a team-high 19 assists, splitting setting duties with freshman Hope Moring who added 15 helpers. Jarrett also topped the team with three aces and Lavy's 11 digs led all Grizzlies.
 
Up Next
Franklin closes out their opening weekend on Saturday (Sept. 3) when they take on the Fighting Scots of Monmouth College. First serve is set for 11:30 a.m.