TROY – Emmanuel Christian ended Franklin Monroe’s season in the second round of the Ohio High School Athletic Association tournament on Tuesday.
The Lions swept the Jets 25-16, 25-21, 25-15 in Division IV sectional tournament play in Troy.
“While the scores weren’t as close as we would have liked, it was definitely a well-played game and we were right there with them,” Franklin Monroe volleyball coach Angie Filbrun said.
Franklin Monroe started out the evening facing a significant deficit as Emmanuel Christian scored seven of the first nine points, prompting the Jets to use a timeout. But FM didn’t go quietly as the Jets closed the gap to 18-14, which caused the Lions to use a timeout to try to stop Franklin Monroe’s momentum. From there Emmanuel Christian regrouped and won the opening set 25-16.
The second set was a back-and-forth affair. There were 12 ties in the set, and Franklin Monroe held several leads including as late as 19-18. However, Emmanuel Christian scored seven of the final nine points to win the game 25-21 and to up two games to none in the best-of-five match.
Franklin Monroe started the third game strong and scored five of the first seven points. However, from there Emmanuel Christian scored 23 of the next 33 points to win 25-15 and sweep the match.
“I felt like our loss definitely wasn’t from lack of trying,” Filbrun said. “They gave 110 percent out on the floor, and everything they did we played our game.”
With Tuesday’s loss Franklin Monroe ended its season with an 11-11 record.
“Very impressed with them,” Filbrun said of her team. “We were very young, started out the season with just two girls with varsity experience, and we’ve come a long way. Really improved. We have a lot to look forward to.”
The loss also ended the high school volleyball careers of FM seniors Hannah Eley, Emilee Morris and Madison Schaar.
“One-hundred-and-ten percent effort all the time,” Filbrun said of her seniors. “They gave us everything. We’ll miss them. They’ll definitely be missed.”
