By Josh Perry || HockomockSports.com Managing Editor
BELLINGHAM, Mass. – Every coach will tell you that the opening round of the playoffs can be the most difficult as teams have to cope the different atmosphere and the pressure of a win-or-go-home tournament match.
Franklin went into its Div. 1 round of 32 match against Braintree having to deal with the rust of having not played a competitive match in 10 days and being forced to move down the road and play its “home” game at Bellingham High (an annual issue because the town takes over the school’s gym for elections).
The Panthers shrugged off all of those challenges on Saturday afternoon, rolling to a comprehensive 3-0 (25-16, 25-17, 25-13) win and advancing to the Sweet Sixteen. It was Franklin’s 13th win in a row and the Panthers have only dropped three sets total during that stretch.
“It was important,” Franklin coach Chris Ridolfi said about Franklin getting off to a strong start to the match. “We haven’t played in a long time. So, it was important that we shook off a little of the rust and came out strong.”
When asked about the challenge of not playing at home, he added, “It’s hard. They earned it, but it is what it is. We scrimmaged here on Thursday on purpose to get ourselves used to it and we treated it like a home game.”
As the favorite, Franklin wanted to avoid giving the Wamps any momentum to start thinking about an upset. Mission accomplished. The Panthers served well right from the start, Emerson Delleo had a pair of aces to open the match and Olivia Alberti and freshman setter Phoebe O’Connor (30 assists) added two more to open up a 9-4 lead.
Franklin’s depth on the front line made it difficult for the Wamps. Makayla Kuykendall (15 kills, 11 digs, three aces) blasted a kill and then blocked another for a point. Delleo (eight kills, four aces, and 10 digs) followed with a block and managed to finish off a tough set with a deft tip into an open space. She then picked the perfect angle on a cross-court shot to score another.
Kuykendall smacked one off the block and Alberti had back-to-back aces as the Panthers led 18-9. Braintree tried to get a run started with a kill from Norah Downey and a block from Zerena Chung, but each time Franklin answered back. Sophomore Charlotte Yeulenski got a kill and Kuykendall had consecutive aces to push the lead to 22-14.
Delleo gave the Panthers set point and libero Emma Cunningham (12 digs and five aces) closed it out with Franklin’s ninth ace of the first.
“We try to be the more physical team,” Ridolfi explained. “So, if we can add a little physicality and make them run around a little bit, that’s what we try to do.”
Momentum carried into the second, with Franklin racing out to a 17-5 lead. Kuykendall continued to stand out, getting a big swing off a Braintree hand and then finding the court with an accurate tip. Cunningham dropped in two aces in a row and Alberti followed with a pair of blocks. Gianna Laurello (seven kills and five digs) got in the act as well, adding a kill and a block to pad the Franklin lead.
To their credit, the Wamps never let the energy dip and stayed engaged in the match. Braintree started to chip away with a block from Stella Lam, a kill from Downey, and an ace from Lauren Caranog to get the lead down to eight (18-10).
Kuykendall responded by smashing one down the line. After an ace from Joely Wang made it a seven-point lead, Kuykendall dropped one just inside the back line. Braintree would get as close as six points on a kill from Izzy Rotondo, but a hitting error and then another perfect, cross-court swing from Delleo put the Panthers on the brink of the next round.
The Wamps got the opening point of the third, but it would be Braintree’s only lead of the match. Franklin came right back, winning 10 of the next 11 points and essentially putting the match out of reach.
Emerson Stewart came in and gave Franklin a lift, getting a kill and a pair of aces. Laurello and Yeulenski added big swings as well to build the lead. Kuykendall blasted one off the block, Yeulenski had a nice tip, and Kuykendall got another ace to push the advantage to 13-4. After a great rally in which Franklin scrambled to save the point multiple times, Alberti (four blocks and three aces) ripped a shot down the middle.
Downey got back-to-back points but Laurello’s kill made it 23-10. Kuykendall set up match point with another pinpoint swing down the line and, after a couple of points for the Wamps, she would do it again on the final point to send the Panthers into the next round.
“We just play our game and find our spots when we can pull away,” Ridolfi said about his team’s approach. “That’s what we did each of those sets. We were kind of playing them point-for-point, we got one server who got hot and one rotation and we pulled away. Then we tried to settle in and play with the lead.”
Franklin (19-2) will face No. 12 seed Lincoln-Sudbury in the Sweet Sixteeen, with the match likely taking place on Wednesday back at Bellingham High, although the final date and time haven’t yet been announced.
