Franklin (9-5, 6-2 HCAC) at Earlham (11-6, 6-3 HCAC)
Richmond, Indiana – Druley Performance Gym
Match 1 – Franklin def. Earlham, 3-2 (25-21, 25-15, 25-21, 25-20, 16-14)
Match 2 – Earlham def. Franklin 3-1 (25-16, 24-26, 25-13, 25-16)

RICHMOND, Indiana – Earlham College women's volleyball knew its post-season fate would hinge heavily on the outcome of Saturday's conference match against Franklin College.

And by all accounts, the Quakers did what they needed to do. Earlham outhit Franklin, had more kills than Franklin, recorded more digs than Franklin, and had just as many blocks as Franklin.

It still wasn't enough.

Franklin eked out a five-set win over Earlham on the Quakers' Druley Performance Gym court on Saturday, closing the match with a 16-14 victory in the decisive fifth set. The loss handed the Maroon and White a Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference loss that not only knocked Earlham out of a probable home semifinal match, but, coupled with the day's other results, eliminated the Quakers from post-season contention.

Match 1
After falling to the Grizzlies in set one, 25-21, the Quakers rallied to post convincing 25-15 and 25-21 victories in sets two and three are were on the verge of clinching the match.

Earlham and Franklin played a much tighter fourth set, and the teams were still tied at 16-16 following a Grizzly service error. The Grizzlies rattled off the next three points, interrupted by a Maria Young kill and a Franklin attack error, and another three-point Franklin run left the Grizzlies with a 22-18 lead. After two more Earlham points, including a Giselle Mora termination, Franklin posted the next three points to seal the 25-20 win.

Set five was also a neck-and-neck affair, and the Grizzlies and Quakers were tied at 14-14 following a point from Erin Wagner. Franklin took the lead on a setting error, and a kill from Abby Sewell handed the Grizzlies the win.

Sarah Dickman finished with 18 kills, four service aces, and a block on her way to 22.5 points. She also had 18 digs. Mora tallied 17 kills, while Young and Caroline Mulvihill finished with 12 and 10 kills respectively.

Libero Jennifer Shamel turned up a season-high 28 digs.

The Quakers hit .208 for the match, outperforming the Grizzlies with their .186 attack percentage, with Wagner finishing with 51 assists. Jennifer Shamel had a team-high 28 digs.

Franklin had three players record double-digit kill totals, led by Reagan Egbert with 17 terminations.

Match 2
Earlham rallied to dominate Franklin in three sets of the four-set non-conference tilt between the two teams, with the Quakers hitting .231 for the match while holding the Grizzlies to a .032 attack percentage.

Dickman and Young each charted 13 kills and three service aces for the Quakers to finish with 16.0 points, while Caroline Mulvihill logged six kills, four aces, and three total blocks for 12.0 points.

Wagner tallied 32 assists while running the Earlham offense, while Shamel had her second 20-dig performance of the day with 22 digs.

Chloe Holder paced the Grizzlies with six kills, while Abby Sewell had five kills, three aces, and two block assists.

Earlham finished its HCAC slate with a 6-3 record – tied for fourth place, but unable to advance to the HCAC Tournament due to losses to three of the four teams either above or tied with the Quakers in the standings.