Box Score Given the stakes, Franklin women's volleyball coach Dillon Taylor decided to hold the team's Senior Day celebration until after Wednesday night's home match against Rose-Hulman.

The Grizzlies managed to compartmentalize emotions just fine, rolling to a 25-22, 25-8, 25-13 sweep of the Engineers at the Spurlock Center.

With the victory, Franklin (21-5, 6-2 HCAC) clinched a top-four seed for next week's conference tournament and the right to host a quarterfinal match — the program's first postseason home match since 2002.

"This group is so laser-focused on their goals," Taylor said. "We made the switch to go D1 Senior Day — put the ceremony at the end so that the focus is the game, and then we celebrate. Then the tears can come. This group does a great job of keeping the main thing the main thing."

The Grizzlies never trailed in the first set, taking the lead for good at 9-5 with a run of four straight points that was capped by a Leah Middleton ace and an Avery Smith kill. Rose-Hulman rallied late, closing an eight-point deficit to two at 24-22, before another Smith kill finished it out.

Set number two was far less competitive, with Lily Gena serving up three aces while helping Franklin build a 14-1 cushion. Senior McKenzie Schroeder paced the attack during that early blitz with four kills for the Griz, who led by double digits the rest of the way.

In the third, the Grizzlies took an early 5-1 lead and stayed on top throughout. After the visitors closed to within 13-10, Franklin used a 6-1 surge, one that included three kills from Schroeder, to rebuild a safe cushion. A service ace from senior Tayler Anderson highlighted a 4-0 run to end the match.

Schroeder and sophomore middle Lauren Kinsey each finished with 11 kills for the Grizzlies, while Smith and Middleton added seven apiece. Senior setter Brionna Linkel had 23 assists, and sophomore Libero Lily Gena had 13 digs and three service aces.

After the match, family and fans stayed around to celebrate the fourth-year trio of Anderson, Linkel and Schroeder, as well as a top-four conference tourney seed just two years after the Griz went through a winless HCAC slate.

"It's amazing," Taylor said. "This group is undefeated at home right now. They defend the Spurlock Center with their lives. And just to see the growth of this program, from 0-9 in conference play our first year to six wins, hopefully seven by the end of it all, I just think that it's a testament to the work that this group has put in. This group of seniors has been through a lot of really hard moments, both before me and now with me, and I'm so lucky and so glad that they're able to see the fruits of their labor while they're here."

The Grizzlies will travel to Berea for the regular-season finale on Saturday before coming back to Spurlock next Wednesday (Nov. 11) against an opponent to be determined.