Fontbonne Women's Volleyball Rally Attempt Comes Up Short In The Fifth Against Franklin

FRANKLIN, Ind.—After a thrilling win on Thursday night over rival Webster, the Fontbonne University women's volleyball team looked for another big road win on Friday, however, the Franklin Grizzlies played spoiler in the fifth hanging on for the win.

Result:

Franklin def. Fontbonne, 3-2 (25-23, 25-18, 24-26, 20-25, 15-6)

Records:

Franklin 8-6, Fontbonne 1-5

The Basics:

Set 1: In the first set, the Griffins opened with a 13-9 lead on Jadyn Fitzgerald's kill and expanded it out to 18-13 on Kristen Kaempfe's kill.

Later, the Griffins led 21-18 but Franklin responded going on a 6-0 run capped off by back-to-back kills from Alyssa Zemllyak. Fontbonne registered the next two points on attack errors, though the Grizzlies finished the set off for the 25-23 win.

Set 2: After trailing 12-8, the Griffins evened it up at 12-12 on Alexa Lofgren's service ace. Franklin stretched its lead out to 21-15 and went on for the 25-18 victory.

Set 3: It was point-for-point play in the third but Fontbonne gained some breathing room with a 16-13 lead on Fitzgerald's kill.

The two teams met-up at 21-21 and Franklin looked to finish the match off after gaining a 23-21 advantage on kills from Chloe Holder and Sara Allen. The Griffins had other plans closing out on a 4-0 run to keep things going winning, 26-24.

The Griffins had a strong third set offensively with 12 kills and just three errors on 31 swings for a .290 hitting percentage.

Set 4: Success carried over into the fourth for Fontbonne with the team leading 13-10 on a block assist from Fitzgerald and Jordan Harpel.

After Franklin battled back and took a 17-16 lead, the Griffins went on a 3-0 run to lead 19-17 and that forced the Grizzlies staff to take a timeout. That didn't slow down Fontbonne with the Griffins finishing off the set on Kelly Herr's service ace for the 25-20 win.

Set 5: In the finale, a service ace from Fitzgerald trimmed the deficit down to 8-6. However, the Grizzlies closed out the set on a 7-0 run for the 15-6 match win.

Fontbonne Leaders

• Fontbonne finished with 43 kills and a .132 hitting percentage.
• At the service line the team ended with a season-high nine aces.
• Defensively, the team posted eight block assists and five total blocks overall.
• Fitzgerald recorded another double-double, her 11^th in career, having 13 kills and 16 digs.
• Kaempfe had another strong game with a season-high 13 kills and .257 hitting percentage.
• Setter Ella Werner-Click filled up the stat sheet with five kills, 35 assists, and eight digs.
• Defensively, Emma Pramik led with a team-high 20 digs.

Up Next

The Griffins are right back at it tomorrow morning against Baldwin Wallace at 9 a.m., followed by Anderson (Ind.) at 11 a.m.

About Fontbonne University

Fontbonne University is a private, Catholic liberal arts university located in St. Louis, committed to a transformative education and inspiring students to become global citizens who think critically, act ethically and serve responsibly. The university, founded in 1923, is sponsored by the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet. For more information, visit www.fontbonne.edu.

Make sure to follow the women's volleyball team on all its social media accounts: Twitter (@FontbonneV), Instagram (@fontbonnewvb) and Facebook (/LadyGriffsVB).