Box Score Franklin, Ind. – The Transylvania volleyball team was upended by the Franklin College Grizzlies on Tuesday evening in a 25-14, 25-23, 26-24 defeat at the Spurlock Center.
Franklin snapped the Pioneers' season-opening 13-match win streak to move to 9-5 overall and 7-2 in Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference play. The Pioneers dropped to 13-1 overall and 8-1 in conference play.
The Grizzlies used a sharp .357 hitting percentage in the opening set to roll past the Pioneers with an 11-point victory to frame their upset bid.
Transylvania mustered 11 kills in the second set but were hindered by 14 errors as the Grizzlies captured set two by the tightest of margins. The Pioneers jumped ahead to an early 8-4 lead in the second set but the Grizzlies went on a 7-2 scoring run to take the lead.
The Pioneers answered with a sizable run of their own, outscoring Franklin 6-1 on the ensuing stretch for a 16-12 advantage; Transylvania later grew the lead to 20-14 on a kill from Madison Sweeney before the Grizzlies answered back on another momentous run with seven points in the next eight rallies for a 21-21 tie. The Pioneers scored two unanswered points to move closer to the finish line but the Grizzlies seized the set, ending it on a 4-0 run.
Battling neck and neck with another in the third set, the Pioneers broke open a 16-16 deadlock with the Grizzlies for a 4-0 run with a blistering three aces from Madi Davis over the stretch. Franklin quickly asserted itself once more with four straight points to knot up the match at 20-20.
With the match tied moments later at 24-24 apiece, the Grizzlies came up with two big plays at the net to finish off the sweep of the Pioneers to capture the notable win.
Suzanne Klosterman led the Pioneers with 10 kills while Grace Ward led the offensive attack with 25 assists and offered 12 digs to go with a block and a kill. Olivia Stotz paced the backline with 13 digs.
Tuesday's result sets up the final pairings for the 2021 HCAC Tournament which begins this weekend. At 8-1, the Pioneers will be the No. 1 seed and host No. 4 seed Bluffton on Friday at 6:00 p.m. in the HCAC Tournament semifinals. The Grizzlies earned the No. 3 seed with Tuesday's win and will visit No. 2 seed Mount St. Joseph on Friday evening. The winners of the Friday semifinals will square off in Sunday's HCAC Tournament Championship game.
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