FRANKLIN, Ind. - Midway earned its first road win in over two years in wild fashion Tuesday, surviving a five-set thriller at Franklin by the final of 18-25, 32-30, 25-21, 16-25, 15-12.

After a decisive loss in the opening set, the Eagles seemed to be in good shape when a 4-0 run, capped by a Luke Wallace service ace, gave them a 24-20 lead late in the second. 

But that would be the first of nine set-point sequences the teams would combine for, with the Eagles holding six of them. But down 30-29, a service error would open the door for a closing 3-0 run, as a Grizzly attack error and Wallace kill allowed Midway to even the set.

Jai'Den Chinnis also came up big in the second set, recording two of his team-high 14 kills to stop Franklin set points.

The Eagles held that momentum in the third set, where they had a .353 hitting percentage and again closed on a 3-0 run after Franklin had cut the deficit to 22-21.

Midway would never lead in the fourth set and fell behind 2-0 in the fifth before recording four-consecutive points, the last two on Caleb Jones service aces.

The back-and-forth nature of the match would only intensify, as the teams would combine for eight ties and four lead changes from that point on before Midway, once again, ended the match with three-consecutive points.

Jaden Alston made it 13-12 Eagles with a kill off a Brayden Wells assists before an attack error brought it to match point. Midway would then avoid further dramatics, as Steven Tippenhauer set up Jose Conde for the final kill.

Alston finished with 10 kills and a team-high four service aces. As a team, Midway had 12 aces, its most since recording 15 in a 3-0 win over Milligan on March 1, 2023.

Noah Fichter and Jordan Daily had 18 and 17 assists respectively with Lincoln Anderson recording 11 digs.

This was Midway's second win over Franklin this season, with the Eagles also winning by the final of 3-0 in a matchup at Midway on March 19.

It also snapped a 23-match losing streak in true road games, the last victory a 3-0 triumph at Kentucky State on Feb. 18, 2023.

The Eagles (4-16) will conclude the home portion of their schedule against River States Conference foe Rio Grande (Ohio) at 4 p.m. Saturday. They will hold a senior day celebration prior to the match.