Less than 48 hours after a season-opening loss, Franklin women's volleyball bounced back in a big, big way.
Playing the first of their three weekend tournament matches in Ohio, the Grizzlies hit .600 in the first set to set the tone for a 25-5, 25-7, 25-6 evisceration of Sweet Briar on Friday evening at Wilmington.
"We had a great opportunity tonight to play a young program and really mix our lineup," said Franklin coach
Dillon Taylor, who used all 20 available players on the court.
Franklin (1-1) served up a whopping 24 aces on the day, led by seven from
Tayler Anderson. Senior
Brionna Linkel got the match started with aces on three of the first four points as the Griz stormed out to a 12-0 lead. Freshman
Bayleigh Moore had a pair of kills during that opening run and then added back-to-back kills to finish out the first set.
After falling behind 2-0 in the second set, Franklin quickly regained control with 14 unanswered points — half of those coming on Anderson aces. Freshman
Avery Smith added six kills on eight swings in that set.
"She comes in every day and works on her tools," Taylor said of Smith, "and it really showed in a match that had limited offensive opportunities."
Three more service aces from
Jenna Batty and a
Mireily Colomba kill helped stake the Griz to a 7-0 lead in the third set, which eventually ended on a pair of
Sydney Kegley kills and an ace from
Kim Busateri.
Overall, Franklin registered 29 kills on 52 swings, committing just seven errors for a .423 hitting percentage. Smith's six kills led a balanced attack, while Moore,
Leah Middleton and
Lauren Kinsey put down four apiece.
Addie Smith had nine assists and a team-high seven digs.
The Grizzlies play two more matches on Saturday — an 11 a.m. date with Pitt-Greensburg and a 4 p.m. battle with host Wilmington.
