By Drew Terhall
Dailyadvocate.com
PLEASANT HILL — The Franklin Monroe volleyball season has come to a close on Oct. 19. The fifth seed Lady Jets lost 3-1 to ninth seeded Houston at Newton High School in the OHSAA Division VI Southwest Sectional Tournament.
Head coach Angie Filbrun said she expected a close game after going to five sets with Houston in a regular season match on Oct. 5. She is proud of how her team played in a match that featured many close sets.
“We knew coming in it was going to be a battle. When we played them a couple of weeks ago, we won in five. Every single set was a battle. They brought their game and they kept us on our heels. Couldn’t get to it tonight. I’m proud of those girls for what they’ve done today and what they’ve given to our program,” Filbrun said.
The first set was all Houston. The Lady Wildcats gained momentum early with a pair of aces to lead 8-7. From that point, the hitters for Houston were hitting the small gaps in the Franklin Monroe defense to grow their lead. After a late run by the Lady Jets, Houston won the first set 25-17.
Then it was the Lady Jets getting out to a lead in the second set. Senior Presley Cox got a few kills to start the set to get her team going. Houston didn’t cave in and fought back to take a 15-17 lead.
The Lady Jets quickly turned it around and led 19-17 when Houston called a timeout. The Lady Wildcats were able to tie the set at 20-20 out of the timeout, but didn’t get a lead for long. Franklin Monroe dug deep and closed out the set to win 25-22.
The third set was close throughout. No team could give them enough breathing room to feel comfortable. The Lady Jets were doing enough to keep their slim lead as the set went on.
Franklin Monroe led 22-18 before Houston started to make a come back. The Lady Wildcats, with their strong hitting, clawed their way to a 24-23 lead. With momentum on their side, they won the third set 25-23.
The fourth set started close again with Houston pulling away early with a 14-9 lead. Houston kept the momentum on their side and didn’t let the Lady Jets get on a run.
“Volleyball is a huge momentum sport. We couldn’t get that. Props to Houston for keeping us back and taking that out of our hands,” Filbrun said.
Even when Franklin Monroe would get a point here and there to keep it close, Houston stayed aggressive and didn’t let the points snowball.
Houston won the final set 25-20.
Franklin Monroe ends the season with a 10-13 record and a 7-4 WOAC record. Filbrun said the team learned a lot this year outside of the game, volleyball is all about learning life lessons and building relationships. The Lady Jets did just that this season.
Eight seniors will graduate from this team. Eavy Clark, Cox, Addie Bauman, Layni Ressler, Adi Tucker, Maura Yount, Allie Muhlenkamp and Olivia Medve. Filbrun said all eight have given six years to the program dating back to junior high. They have set the example for the younger players and taught them the standard they will have to uphold.
“They all accomplished a lot of really good things. Every single one of them were a great part of our program. They are going to be extremely missed,” Filbrun said.
Contact Daily Advocate sports editor Drew Terhall at [email protected].
