Last fall, the Franklin volleyball team captured its very first State Championship under first-year coach Chris Ridolfi. Entering the Division 1 State Tournament, the Panthers had gone 18-2 on the regular season and were the five seed. Franklin would sweep their way into the championship game by defeating Braintree, Lincoln Sudbury, number four Andover and Newton South, who took out the number one team Chelmsford all by a 3-0 score. The Panthers would go on to edge Newton North, the three-time defending champion, 3-2.

Although still early at the time of this writing, to have his full team established, Ridolfi is optimistic about his squad making another splash at the championship game.

"Coming into the season, we don't have any glaring holes on this team," the Coach said. "At this moment, it's hard to say where we'll be without putting all the pieces together. The girls will continue to compete, and I will see where they fit; we have all the pieces; I just need to pick the right ones."

Having already won a State Title, Franklin has put the bullseye on their backs as the team to beat this fall. Ridolfi knows that the ceiling is obviously higher but doesn't want to put pre-season pressure on the team too early.

"My goal is to make it back to the Final 4 and then another bid to the Semi's," the Coach said. "Coming in last year the captains (Olivia Alberti and Makayla Kuykendall) told me that they wanted to win a State Championship and then backed it up by doing the work on and off the court."

Having lost three really big pieces from last year's historic season, Franklin will be bringing back four key players.

This fall, the Panthers will be lead by captains senior Gianna Laurello, a right side hitter who may be moved to the outside this year, and junior Emerson Delleo, an outside hitter. The duo will be looked upon to lead this team both on and off the court. Ridolfi is hoping that the two captains can set the goal and them go out and guide the team; much like Alberti and Kuykendall did last year.

Last fall, Ridolfi went with two setters allowing then freshman Phoebe O'Connor to ease into the position. By the time the season had come to an end, O'Connor had not only won the position, but was a main cog in the Panthers' run to the title.

"The team was getting accustomed to a new coach coming in, and Phoebe was trying to learn her role," the Coach said. "It was her first time navigating a team through a State Championship run, and she proved herself worthy."

Junior Charlotte Yuelenski is looking to move up as a top middle hitter this year after gaining a ton of experience during the team's run. This year, the coach is looking for the junior to take the lead and push the younger hitters.

Having lost libero Emma Cunningham from last year's squad, senior Katelyn Crosby will be looking to chase down that opening. Cunningham held a very important position for Franklin, especially being a serve and pass team. Last year, Crosby was limited in her role with the team after attaining a concussion, and by the time that she returned to the court the team was rolling and they didn't want to disrupt the momentum, so she wasn't used all that much.

Participating in the Hockomock league, Franklin is already saddled with a tough schedule with the likes of King Philip, who went to the Division 2 Semi Finals last ; Oliver Ames, a 20-0 team that won the Division 2 State Championship and Attleboro, always a tough team. Despite battling Hockomock League foes, the Panthers have put together a non-league schedule against some powerhouse teams like Winchester (19-1 in Division 1 last season and one of this year's top teams), Bishop Feehan (14-6 in Division 1), Barnstable (12-8 in Division 2) and Chelmsford (20-0 and he top seed in Division 1).

"With the schedule we have put together, we will be facing three of the top five teams in the state," the Panther Coach said. "It will be a measuring stick to how we do throughout the season and will allow us to see who could be in our way of trying to repeat."

Franklin will see Winchester late in September, giving them a look at where they are weak and what needs to be worked on. They will then use that information to see where they stand with Barnstable before moving on to play Chelmsford.

Franklin will open the season on September 8 against neighboring rival King Philip in a Hockomock League matchup enroute to winning back-to-back State Championships.