TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – History was made on Friday and Saturday (Jan. 24-25), with the Franklin men's volleyball team kicking off their inaugural season with three matches across two days.
 
A history-making weekend was in the cards in more than one way, with Franklin (1-2) earning the program's first ever win in a four-set victory over Kentucky State in the weekend's final match. Prior to the victory, Franklin fell to Saint Mary of the Woods in straight sets on Friday and Truett McConnell in four sets on Saturday morning.
 
Match One: Saint Mary of the Woods 3 – Franklin 0
25-20, 25-18, 25-16
Franklin stayed within striking distance in all three sets against the Pomeroys before the host side used a late run in each game to pull away and collect the win.
 
The Grizzlies were paced by 11 kills, three aces and a .226 hitting percentage from Jonathan McCoy. Tiki Johnson handed out 16 assists and Simon Hmung led the back line with seven digs. Johnson and Jackson Hedges each recorded a solo block to lead the net-front defense.
 
Match Two: Truett McConnell 3 – Franklin 1
25-23, 25-13, 23-25, 25-19
Staring down a two-set deficit, Franklin kept the match alive and claimed the first game in program history by taking set three, with McCoy powering home a kill to finish off the game. But any comeback bid was snuffed out one set later, with the Grizzlies falling short in an effort to send it to a fifth set.
 
McCoy and Avery Sylvester each put down 12 kills, while Johnson led Franklin with 23 assists and eight digs. Hmung had a team-high two aces in the game and Wyatt Biggs turned back a team-high five shots.
 
Match Three: Franklin 3 – Kentucky State 1
26-24, 17-25, 28-26, 25-19
The Grizzlies clutched up to take the first set, fighting off set point with three straight points to steal the opening game. After dropping game two, Franklin once again faced match point in game three with Kentucky State leading 26-25. But the Grizzlies got a kill from McCoy and forced a pair of attacking errors to move one set away from victory.
 
Game four saw Franklin take control early on and hang on to the lead throughout the match. The man that drove the attack finished off the victory, with McCoy driving home the game-winning kill and drawing elation from the Franklin bench.
 
McCoy capped his weekend with 16 kills, followed by 14 from Sylvester in support. Hmung collected 14 digs for the first double-digit dig game in school history. Johnson set a single-game high with 27 assists and led the team with five blocks.
 
Up Next
Franklin heads to Fort Wayne, Ind. on Feb. 9 for the Indiana Tech Tournament. A list of contests will be announced in the coming weeks.