LATROBE, Pa – The Franciscan University of Steubenville volleyball team traveled to St. Vincent College on Friday to participate in the Bearcat Challenge for their opening weekend of play. In their first match of the year they fell to Muskingum University 3-0 (25-17, 25-13, 25-20.) In their second match of the night they fought to a 3-2 (25-17, 20-25, 23-25, 25-20, 15-8) victory over Allegheny College.

“It was an okay first match,” Lady Baron head coach Kelly Herrmann said about her team's loss against Muskingum. “The girls worked very hard.”

Leading the way offensively for Franciscan in the first game was Anna Cain, who recorded six kills in the first match. Dani Link and Amy O'Keefe had four assists each. The defensive standout for the Lady Barons was Christina Marie Lawrence who had 26 digs, followed up by Sam Kelly with 16.

“We did a great job limiting our errors, but we have to be more efficient and end points early,” Herrmann said.

In the second match against Allegheny College, Franciscan put on a defensive spectacle as they tallied 144 total digs. Lawrence led the way recording 43, while Kelly and O'Keefe contributed 34 and 21, respectively.

Along with her 21 digs, O'Keefe led the team with 21 assists. Cain led FUS in kills with 16 while committing just two errors.

“All 13 players were totally involved in the match and everybody worked hard on every point,” Herrmann said of the second match. “As coaches we are very proud of our team as everyone at Franciscan should be!”

The Lady Barons (1-1) are back in action at the Bearcat Invitational Saturday, September 1, as they face Westminster (Pa.) and Oberlin at 11 a.m. and 3 p.m., respectively.