For the second time in as many matches, Franklin women's volleyball lost its opening set by two points against a team at the top of the HCAC standings.

The rest of Saturday afternoon, though, was all Grizzlies, as they bounced back from a first-set setback and finished off a 23-25, 25-20, 27-25, 25-12 victory at Mount St. Joseph.

Franklin (15-12, 4-3) handed the Lions their first league loss while also reaching the 15-win mark for the first time since 2019.

"Our balance again shows that it's our biggest strength this year," Griz coach Dillon Taylor said. "No matter who we called upon offensively, we had attackers who were prepared to take big swings."

Indeed, the Grizzlies' 55 kills were well distributed. Hope Moring led the way with 12 kills and 19 assists, while freshman Leah Middleton had a double-double of her own with 10 kills and a team-high 12 digs. Kaitlyn Lavy and Trinity Schroeder each had nine kills, and Lauren Kinsey added seven kills and four blocks. Brionna Linkel dished out 26 assists.

Mount St. Joseph broke a 23-23 tie to take the first set, but the Grizzlies bounced back in the second, using a 5-1 run to pull ahead at 9-8 on a Lavy kill and a Charlotte Goto service ace. Another 5-1 spurt, this one started by a Middleton kill, gave Franklin an 18-13 advantage. The Lions got as close as 21-19 before the visitors put things away with a Hannah Phegley ace and a pair of MSJ errors.

In the pivotal third, the two teams were tied a dozen times, the last at 25-25 after the Grizzlies fought off a pair of set points. A Lion error put Franklin ahead by one, and Middleton hammered down a kill to close out the set.

The Grizzlies took the momentum from that set and carried it through a one-sided fourth. Franklin showed off its balance by getting kills from five different players during a 10-1 surge that stretched an 8-7 edge all the way to 18-8. Lavy had a pair of kills to make it 23-10, and Moring delivered the exclamation point with kills on the final two points.

Taylor credited Lavy and Trinity Schroeder with providing a necessary spark in the third and fourth sets, and said Kinsey and Trinity Schroeder were "electric" in the middle during those sets.

Franklin will try to guarantee its first full winning season since 2016 when it hosts Manchester on Wednesday (Nov. 5).