WILMINGTON, Ohio - Franklin College kept the Wilmington College volleyball team out of system in a 25-19, 25-16, 25-18 victory over the Fightin' Quakers at Fred Raizk Arena on Tuesday evening.
The Grizzlies (4-3) took the early lead in each of the first two sets. In set one, a Kaitlyn Lavy service run put the visitors up 7-7 in the early going, but the hosts would battle back to tie it 15-15 on a kill from Joy Bebe followed by an Grizzly attack error. Three quick points from Franklin proved to be the difference as it wouldn't relinquish the lead again, ending the set with a service ace. In set two, Billie Jarrett served up the first three points, and after a kill from Sophia Thomas, a Grizzly attack error an a Thomas service ace, WC found itself trailing by a single point at 5-4. That's as close as the hosts would get in set two, however, as Franklin won 10 straight points off the serve of Campbell Clark. The Quaker did fight off seven set points on a Bebe service run, but a service error ended the set.
Set three would start differently as Sydney Geibel gave the hosts a 7-2 lead on a service run that was capped by a Bailey Pohlman solo block. The visitors answered right back, however, winning 10 of the next 13 points. A Geibel kill would tie the set at 13-13, but another FC run, this one 6-1, put the set and the match away.
Franklin hit a .214 clip for the match and was led by Lavy's 13 kills and .303 attack percentage. Jarrett dished out 27 assists while Clark added 17 digs. Although the Grizzlies had just three team blocks, they won the serve-and-pass game, in part due to a dozen aces. Wilmington finished the match with a .068 attack percentage and also three team blocks as Thomas tallied 11 kills and setter Andie Dolven assisted on all 26 Quaker kills. Libero Blake O'Brien tallied 16 digs while Pohlman had two solo blocks and a block assist.
Wilmington will head to Michigan for the Albion-Olivet Tournament this weekend.
