COLUMBUS, Ohio – The Franklin volleyball team was back at it for another busy weekend on the court, taking part in the Capital University Pam Briggs Classic on Sept. 6-7.
 
The Grizzlies went 2-1 on the weekend, taking five-set wins over Capital and Westminster (Mo.) to start the weekend. A three-set loss to Otterbein to close out the festivities puts the Grizzlies at 3-5 through the first two weeks of play.
 
Following the invitational, junior Hope Moring earned a place on the all-tournament team after a trio of solid all-around performances.
 
Franklin 3 – Capital 2 (22-25, 25-19, 25-15, 14-25, 15-11)
Franklin stormed back after an opening set loss with victories in games two and three that saw the Grizzlies combine for 27 total kills against just four errors, with the team hitting better than .420 in each of games two and three. After a sluggish fourth set, Franklin sealed the win with a 7-1 run to close out game five, with freshman Arabella Shepherd closing out the win with her career-high 16^th kill of the night.
 
McKenzie Schroeder and Kaitlyn Lavy joined Shepherd in double figures with 12 and 11 kills, respectively. Moring just missed out on a triple double with a nine kill, 19 dig, 20 assist effort to go along with a game-high five aces. Brionna Linkel had a team-high 22 assists and Trinity Schroeder rejected five balls at the net.
 
Franklin 3 – Westminster 2 (23-25, 25-19-25-20, 25-27, 15-13)
For the second match in a row, the Grizzles dusted themselves off after an opening set loss with back-to-back wins to make it a 2-1 game. After dropping a tough tie-breaker in set four, Franklin responded once again with a strong finish to the match, taking three of the final four points to seal their third straight win overall.
 
Lavy led the in hitters with 16 kills, followed by 13 from Trinity Schroeder, 11 from Moring and 10 from Shepherd. Moring had a team-high 30 assists and 14 digs to complete a triple-double, with Linkel adding 23 helpers and Campbell Clark dropping in a team-best four aces. McKenzie Schroder led the net-front defense with eight total blocks.
 
Otterbein 3 – Franklin 0 (25-20, 25-8, 25-18)
The Grizzlies saw their winning streak halted by a team sitting just outside the top-25 nationally, with Otterbein rolling to wins in all three games. Moring topped Franklin with five digs and three aces while Lavy and Clark tied for the team lead with eight digs each. Linkel finished with eight assists while Trinity Schroeder had four total blocks.
 
Up Next
Franklin continues their long road trip to start the year this coming Tuesday (Sept. 10) night, as they make the short trip to Greencastle, Ind. for a matchup with DePauw. First serve is set for 7:00 p.m.