Franklin women's volleyball coach
Dillon Taylor found himself at a loss for words until his team was well on its way home Saturday afternoon.
He's not the only one who's been left speechless by the red-hot Grizzlies this season.
The Griz won both of its matches in Cincinnati, getting past host Mount St. Joseph, 27-25, 23-25, 25-19, 25-22, in a nonconference battle before following up with a 28-26, 25-17, 25-21 sweep of Marietta.
Those two victories extend Franklin's win streak to 15 — the longest run of consecutive victories in the rally scoring era and the second-longest in school history overall behind a 22-match run in 1983.
"Incredible effort today by these young women," Taylor said. "We were tested by two incredibly talented teams, and we rose to the occasion."
Against MSJ, the Grizzlies (15-1) were up against the wall at 24-22 before freshman
Avery Smith delivered back-to-back kills to tie it up. Smith put down another kill to even it at 25-25, with
Kaitlyn Lowes finishing out the comeback two points later.
The Lions took the second set — the first one Franklin dropped since its season opener, a run of 40 in a row — but the Grizzlies responded in the third, using a pair of 4-0 bursts to build a 16-11 edge and maintaining the upper hand the rest of the way. In the fourth, Franklin took the lead for good at 16-15 on a Lion service error, then used kills from Lowes,
Mireily Colomba,
Leah Middleton and Smith to hold on and seal the match.
"We had a choice to make after we dropped set two," Taylor said, "and they chose to stand strong as a unit and continue to shock the world."
Freshman
Bayleigh Moore led the Griz attack with 12 kills, while Middleton had nine and Colomba, Smith and
Lauren Kinsey added eight apiece.
Brionna Linkel handed out 28 assists and 13 digs, while
Kim Busateri pulled up 20 digs.
Franklin faced another tough first set against a 10-win Marietta squad, trailing 19-16 before pulling even on a
Skylyr Merriman service ace. Down again at 25-24, the Grizzlies regained the lead on kills by Smith and Middleton, then went ahead to stay at 27-26 on another Middleton kill. The Grizzlies trailed 6-3 early in the second set but answered with six points in a row, including consecutive kills from the sophomore trio of Kinsey, Middleton and Lowes. A 7-1 surge later in the set, capped by an
Addie Smith ace, left Franklin in command at 22-14.
In the third and final set, the Grizzlies broke a 10-10 deadlock with five straight points, including two kills from Moore and an ace by Linkel. Marietta crept within one at 16-15, but Franklin was able to stay on top through the end.
Three Grizzlies finished with double-digit kills in the victory — Smith with 14, Middleton with 11 and Moore with 10. Linkel and
Addie Smith had 18 and 17 assists, respectively, Colomba had four blocks and Busateri totaled 16 digs to pace the defensive effort.
"Bayleigh has been incredible on the right side," Taylor said, "while Avery absolutely dominated the second match. As we move forward and continue to get healthy, there are only more things these women can accomplish!"
Next up for the Grizzlies is a trip to Hanover for the HCAC opener next Saturday (Oct. 3).
