Testing itself against a more experienced in-state rival, Franklin men's volleyball showed it could hold its own. The next step will be figuring out how to finish the job.

The young Grizzlies put up a good fight in Tuesday's road match against Wabash before ultimately taking a 25-22, 25-13, 25-15 loss.

Franklin (0-3) made its best showing at the beginning of the first set, pulling even on 10 different occasions early. The last of those came at 11-11, courtesy of a kill from Corbin Deck. The Little Giants answered that point by scoring six of the next seven to go up 17-12, but the Griz punched back with three in a row and got within two, 18-16, on a Demetric George kill. The visitors stayed within range at 23-21 and 24-22 before Wabash got the decisive point.

The second and third sets were a bit less dramatic, but the young Grizzlies had their moments throughout — particularly on the back row, where they finished with a 30-29 advantage in digs. Simon Hmung pulled up a dozen to lead the way. Franklin also showed improvement on serve, cutting its errors there to a season-low 10.

Deck paced the attack with eight kills, while Matthew Becerra handed out 20 assists.

The Grizzlies return to action with four tournament matches at Calvin over the weekend, beginning with a battle against the host Knights on Friday afternoon (Feb. 13, 1 p.m.).