Franklin men's volleyball came into its second season believing it could compete against anyone.

The Grizzlies' two season-opening matches against Greenville and host Mount St. Joseph on Saturday both ended in four-set losses, but they did offer evidence that the team will be able to hold its own all season.

"The guys had a really great day," Griz coach Dillon Taylor said. "Great competition. Greenville is much improved over last year, and I think we showed our improvement taking a set from Mount for the first time in history. Really proud of the efforts of some of these freshmen that are stepping into big roles."

In its first match of the day, Franklin wound up on the wrong end of a 25-12, 23-25, 25-18, 25-22 score against Greenville. A 10-error first set put the Grizzlies (0-2) in a hole, but they were able to bounce back by taking a 10-4 lead in the second and holding it the rest of the way before the Panthers pulled out the final two sets.

Jonathan McCoy and Demetric George Jr. each had 15 kills in the opener for the Grizzlies, while Tiki Johnson matched a career high with 37 assists and Corbin Deck led the team with 10 digs and three blocks.

Franklin dropped close 25-23 and 25-21 sets against MSJ before staying alive with a 25-20 win in the third. The Grizzlies fell behind 10-5 early but rallied with seven of the next eight points to pull ahead. Two McCoy kills keyed a six-point surge that put the visitors up 19-14, and George delivered kills on two of the last three points of the set.

George ended the nightcap with a team-high 14 kills, while McCoy had a double-double with 12 kills and 15 digs. Johnson paced the Griz with 30 assists, three blocks and two aces.

Overall, Taylor was happy with the fight his still-inexperienced team showed throughout the day.

"Really excited for what this group of guys can accomplish with the work ethic that we showed just today in those two matches," he said.

The Grizzlies will return to action on Feb. 10 at Wabash.