After watching her team play four matches over the weekend, Franklin volleyball coach Roxanne Chapman sensed her team might benefit from a day off.
And though it took the host Grizzly Cubs time to regain their form Tuesday night, they did to defeat Whiteland, 25-17, 25-13, 25-13.
The victory improved Franklin’s record to 13-3 and 3-0 in the Mid-State Conference. The Warriors dropped to 1-9 and 0-2.
“You could tell that first set that we were a little tired after Saturday. I think we played 10 sets,” Chapman said of the annual Providence Invitational in southern Indiana. “I knew we were a little rusty coming off of no practice, but we did well. Whiteland, I thought, was scrappy.”
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Click here to purchase photos from this galleryIn the opening set, particularly.
The only leads Whiteland experienced all evening were 1-0 in the first set, 3-2 in the second and, again, 1-0 in the third.
However, trailing 19-14 in the opening set, the Warriors scored consecutive points before Franklin junior Brooklyn Peddycord tallied two of her five service aces to help close it out.
Whiteland coach Carolyn Ray was proud of her squad’s effort and execution from the start.
“We came in and were on the growth mindset. Play your game and make sure you’re working on what we’ve been talking about in practice,” Ray said “We were astounded with how they came out and played knowing that we’re going up against a ranked opponent.
“Even in the other two sets, we had some big hits from (sophomore) Toni Joyner. It’s really just cleaning up our defense in the back. We do that and we really do feel like a strong opponent.”
Franklin dominated from the start of the second set, charging to a 12-3 advantage. The same looked to be happening in the third, but the Warriors rallied from a 7-3 deficit to tie it at 9-all.
Chapman’s team responded with an 11-0 scoring run – a sequence that included three Peddycord aces and two kills courtesy of 6-foot senior outside hitter Alyvia Sundheimer.
Sundheimer led the Grizzly Cubs with 12 kills, while junior Isabell Mahin added 11. Setter Brooke Phillips did her part with 24 assists, six kills and an ace. For Whiteland, senior Lindsey Boltz led the way with seven kills with Joyner contributing six.
“Sometimes it’s a little rough coming back from a break,” Sundheimer said. “I think we tried tonight to keep a faster tempo. We try to keep running plays and play our game.”
Whiteland returns home tonight to play Indian Creek, while Franklin is off until Sept. 12 when it travels to Plainfield.
