FOXBORO, Mass. - When Mansfield came away with a quick, convincing 25-10 win in game one against Franklin, it looked as though the Hornets were on their way to their 8th win of the season.
And then when Mansfield edged out the Panthers 26-24 in game two and pulled within one game of a sweep, it looked even more likely Mansfield would remain unbeaten.
But there's a reason they play best of five.
Franklin rallied to win games three, four, and five and beat Mansfield 3-2 for their first loss of the season.
The Panthers took game three 25-21 after trailing by four points, and then rallied from a 17-16 deficit to win game four 25-20. It looked as though Franklin was going to roll in game five when they jumped out to a 7-0 start but Mansfield rallied for a 12-10 lead. After Mansfield came within one point at 14-13, Franklin took the next three points for the win.
"It was exciting all the way around," Franklin head coach Catherine Horsmann said. "It's a big thing to go to an away gym no matter what but a win against a quality team is even more special."
Though the Panthers boast six seniors, they lost a very talented class year and are still inexperienced as a whole in terms of varsity minutes.
"We have a lot of heart and a lot of will but we're young," Horsmann said. "We have entire rotations of that were on JV last year. It's nice to finally see us keep a lead or come from behind. All year we've been in close games but we have't been able to pull it out. I'm really proud of the girls."
When game five started, it looked like momentum was going to carry the Panthers to victory after they jumped out to a 7-0 lead. But then momentum took a turn in Mansfield's direction when they went on a 9-1 run lead to take the lead. But a key player for Franklin calmed things down.
"We got in a funk and we put in one of our senior defensive specialists - Rachel Balon - who hadn't played but she's very, very good and she makes two great passes and pulled us out of it."
Another key player for Franklin was middle Lauren Irvine. Irvine isn't the hardest hitter in the league as Horsmann admitted, but her timing and blocking abilities were a came changer.
"Lauren Irvine is just really, really good," Horsmann said. "She doesn't hit as hard but she blocks. once you have to start thinking about that big block and the ball coming back, it really makes a difference."
Things don't get easier for Franklin, who have their toughest schedule they've ever had according to Horsmann. They will host Brockton, a traditional volleyball powerhouse, before facing off against Davenport foes Foxboro, OA, and Milford.
"I think the Hock is as good as it's ever been," Horsmann added. 'We have to get those ten wins and this helps us get there and this is going to be a big confidence builder."
UNIFORM MIX UP
Looking at the scores of games two through five it's interesting to look back and see why Mansfield was so successful in game one. Horsmann credited the Hornets and said there's no way of telling if the result wouldn't have been different, but did note that two players had switched jerseys and were out of the position.
"Well the problem in game one was that two of our players put on the wrong uniforms," Horsmann said, noting that one is a defensive specialist while the other is a middle.
The Panthers were forced to make substitutions but were unable to get the ideal rotation.