Franklin ends Mounties season

KINGS MOUNTAIN — They play pretty good volleyball at higher elevations.

Franklin High, the No. 2 seed from the Mountain Athletic Conference, eliminated Southwestern Conference champion Kings Mountain from the State 3A playoffs Wednesday with a 3-0 sweep at Parker Gymnasium.

Scores: Franklin 25-15, 25-14, 25-13

Records: Kings Mountain ends its season with a 22-4 mark; Franklin (20-5) advances to play the North Buncombe/Eastern Randolph victor.

Stat leaders: The Lady Mountaineers were led by Marshia Meeks with 14 kills, Brooke Avery had 11 assists and Jordan Doty had seven digs.

How it went: In game one, Kings Mountain trailed 13-11 before the visiting Panthers went on a 12-14 blitz to end it.

In both of the next two games, Franklin started fast. Kings Mountain did have a run of four straight points in the second game to draw within 11-9, but the Panthers took control with another tear for a 20-10 edge and eventual 11-point win. Franklin got off to a 10-3 start in the final game.

From the coach: “We didn’t play very well. We knew they would be tough and we just couldn’t match up with their offense,” Kings Mountain Coach Brian Grant said.

“We couldn’t get out of the gate. Our serving wasn’t good and that’s been one of our stronger points.

“We’re graduating a core group and we’ll miss them. I like what we do have coming back and I’m glad we were able to get them some playoff experience.”