FRANKLIN, Ind. — The Earlham College volleyball team improved its Heartland Collegiate Heritage Conference outlook with a straight-set win over Franklin on Saturday.
The Quakers improved to 17-5 (6-1 HCAC) while the Grizzlies fell to 10-14 (2-5 HCAC).
A Quartet of Quakers reached double-digit kills on the afternoon.
Caroline Mulvihill,
Maria Young,
Giselle Mora and
Olivia Kyrk all hit 10 kills with a percentage over .230. The foursome also combined for three serving aces.
Setter
Erin Wagner tallied 41 assists for an average of 13.6 assists/set.
Libero
Mallory Cox managed the backline with 18 digs. Mulvihill also hit double digits in the backline with 11 digs.
After trailing in the early rallies of the first set, the Quakers bounced back with a 10-2 run with serves from Wagner and Mulvihill. The run consisted of nine kills coming from Young, Mulvihill, Mora and
Sarah Dickman. After gaining control of the set, Earlham marched away to a 25-21 win.
With the score tied at eight in the second set, the Quakers stormed to a 7-0 run kickstarted by a kill from Young. Later in the set, with Earlham leading 20-13 the Grizzlies found an offensive spark and ran a 6-point streak on the Quakers to bring the deficit down to one point. Undeterred, Earlham calmly finished the set with a 5-1 margin.
Both teams started the final set with points runs. The Quakers started things off with a 5-0 run at the onset of play. Franklin then responded with a 4-0 run on the other side of the court. The squads battled back and forth until Earlham scored a 7-0 run, leaving the Grizzlies stopped in their tracks.
Earlham still stands in a 3-way tie for the top spot in the HCAC standings with Mount St. Joseph and Transylvania. With the Lions and Pioneers set to battle next week, one of the top teams will bow out of title contention. Earlham holds the head-to-head tiebreaker over both teams should they finish with the same record against conference teams.
Earlham will conclude its regular season next week as Bluffton comes to Druley Performance Gym on Wednesday for a 7 p.m. match. The Quakers then host Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology on Saturday for senior day where five seniors will be honored for their four years of action with Earlham volleyball.
