CRESSON, Pa. – Lady Barons volleyball pushed their win streak to five after blanking Mt. Aloysius College 3-0 (25-20, 25-11, 25-18). FUS is now 4-1 in the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference and is looking to separate itself from the three other one-loss teams in the conference before the playoffs begin.

Both teams entered the match with young talent. Mt. Al presented a challenge to the Lady Barons because of their young roster who boasts a lot of chemistry.

"I told the girls to not sleep on this game," Head Coach Kelly Herrmann said. "I warned them not to let their record (5-19) fool us. This was going to be a tough game and we responded."

Not only did Franciscan respond to the challenge set down by their coach, they also played a consistent and low error match, something that has been a struggle for them since the beginning of the season. The Lady Barons have been working to eliminate that part of their game and their hard work paid off against Mt. Al only giving up 11 errors the entire match.

"We have been working fundamentally on different things," Herrmann said. "We really have been focusing on our transition. We don't want to have a weak transition. We have been scrimmaging in practice to make sure that once a blocker is off the net that she gets in the right position on the court to make a play."

Things seem to be coming together for Franciscan who was led defensively by the effort of freshman middle hitter Emily Baznik. Baznik had seven block assists that consistently cooled off Mt. Al and prevented them from gathering any momentum.

"Emily had an outstanding blocking performance tonight," Herrmann said. "She was so dominant and she made really good decisions at the net. She wasn't passive at all and we referenced her hard work a lot tonight."

Recently, every game has been a unique opportunity for FUS to display the athleticism of their young team. While the team showcased that athleticism, Franciscan's on-the-court presence and growing leadership was the difference maker against Mt. Al.

Star sophomore libero Sam Kelly has become the leader of this young team and is leading the AMCC in total digs. Her ability has been backed up by the defensive efforts of sophomore outside hitter Christina Lawrence and junior setter Amy O'Keefe.

"The girls really celebrate each other out there," Herrmann said. "We have such strong talent and everybody is really supportive."

The Lady Barons will carry their win streak into a tri-match on October 17 against two challenging opponents; Grove City College and Westminster looking to gain more experience as they close out their regular season.