DELAWARE, Ohio – Spalding volleyball went 1-1 on the final day of the Bishop Invitational as they took down Heidelberg University 3-1 and fell 3-1 to Franklin College.

The Golden Eagles return to Louisville 3-5 overall after the invitational split.

M1: SU vs Heidelberg

After leading the first set early, Spalding fell behind by nine after a 5-0 run by the Student Princes. Things looked grim after Heidelberg reached set point at 24-19, but that's when the Golden Eagles surged. A 6-0 SU run, led by three Jordyn Sarver kills via Ella Clark, put the Golden Eagles up by one. The Student Princes came back quickly to take the set 28-26.

Set two started strong for Spalding. The Golden Eagles went on a 6-0 run early to take a 7-3 advantage. Jayda Branch had three kills in the scoring streak. Heidelberg charged back and took a 17-14 advantage. A Student Princes error and two Brianna Terpening service aces gave Spalding a 20-19 lead. Two ties came after that but HU could not claim the lead. The Golden Eagles took the frame 25-23.

The tight nature of the match continued into the third set. Nine ties came throughout the frame, with the final coming at 19-19 on a Branch kill. Halle Calbert had another kill right after to give Spalding the lead for good. The Golden Eagles left set three victorious by a mark of 25-21.

Spalding spent most of the fourth frame behind on the scoreboard. It was not until a Branch kill made the score 21-20 that the Golden Eagles took their first lead. Heidelberg tied it back immediately, but it was not enough. Spalding took the 25-23 win after an Alyssa Russow kill ended the match.

M2: SU vs Franklin

The Golden Eagles never trailed in the first set of the second match. A 5-1 run to open the frame gave all the momentum to SU. A .361 hitting clip for Spalding helped the squad maintain a lead through the whole frame. SU won the set 25-17.

The second frame flipped the narrative from the first as it was Spalding who got behind early. The Golden Eagles trailed until back-to-back errors from the Grizzlies tied the set at 19-all. That was part of a 9-0 Spalding run that put the Golden Eagles up 24-19. Franklin returned the favor and used a 7-0 run to close out the set and take a 26-24 win.

Set three was closer than the previous two from beginning to end. Runs by both teams took up a large amount of the frame. A 9-2 run by the Grizzlies put FC up 13-8. Spalding answered back with a 7-0 run, with kills by four different Golden Eagles and a block from Calbert and Kayla Dunican, which gave SU a 15-13 lead. The set ended up tied 22-22 before Frankin scored three unanswered to take the frame 25-22.

The Grizzlies took control early in the fourth set and never let up. Spalding tied the frame at 2-2, but was never able to get closer than that. The Golden Eagles fell in the final set 25-17 which secured the Franklin match win.

GOLDEN EAGLE NOTES

• Jayda Branch led both matches in kills. She had 16 in the first and 20 in the second.
• Branch had a double-double in the second match with a team-high 17 digs.
• Halle Calbert had a career-high kills performance against Heidelberg with 12.
• Calbert hit an impressive .476 against the Student Princes.
• Brianna Terpening had a great serving performance versus HU with a career-best five service aces. 
• Spalding led in kills (59-41), assists (58-39), and digs (66-58) in the battle with the Student Princes.
• The Golden Eagles led Franklin in both assists (44-34) and digs (64-58). 

NEXT FOR SPALDING
Spalding returns home to host Hanover College on Wednesday. First serve from Columbia Gym is set for 7 p.m.