Following Tuesday night's women's volleyball match at the Spurlock Center, Franklin coach
Dillon Taylor commented on how much the team on the other side of the net — Spalding — has improved since last year.
It's pretty clear that the Grizzlies have, too.
Franklin kept its early-season roll going with a 25-16, 25-19, 25-16 sweep of the Golden Eagles in their home debut, the fourth straight win for Taylor's club.
"I was really, really proud of our service," Taylor said after the Grizzlies (4-1) collected nine aces against just four errors from the service line. "I thought we served them really, really well; nine aces is a big number for us against a team like that, that's really disciplined in receive."
Set one saw Franklin storm out of an early 9-7 deficit with five consecutive points, highlighted by kills from
Kaitlyn Lowes and
Leah Middleton along with an ace from
Brionna Linkel. A 6-0 run later in the set, keyed by two more Linkel aces, pushed the score to 24-15, and Middleton ended it with her fourth kill of the set two points later.
Spalding again hung tough through much of the second set, which was deadlocked at 11-11 before the Grizzlies went ahead for good. The Golden Eagles were still within a point at 18-17, but a
Lauren Kinsey kill and an ace from freshman
Skylyr Merriman bookended a 4-0 spurt that put the home side in control again. Franklin got the final three points of the set on a
Mireily Colomba kill, followed by a kill and a block from
McKenzie Schroeder.
The Grizzlies controlled the final set, with two Colomba kills and another from Middleton creating some separation at 15-8. Spalding never got closer than five the rest of the way, and Middleton ended the match — fittingly — with an ace.
Middleton and Schroeder each put down eight kills to pace a balanced Griz attack, with Kinsey adding six and
Bayleigh Moore five. Linkel had 15 assists to go with her four aces.
Defensively, Colomba totaled seven blocks and Schroeder six, while
Kim Busateri led the back row with 10 digs.
Taylor is hopeful that Franklin can carry this momentum into its four weekend tournament matches at Spurlock, starting with a Friday afternoon tilt against Blackburn.
"We're doing some really great things," he said. "One day at a time, one step at a time. Big weekend up for us here ... four very winnable matches if we play this way."
