STEUBENVILLE, Ohio - The Franciscan University Lady Barons split their first two matches of the 2013 season in the Bearcat Challenge at St. Vincent College. Franciscan lost their first match against Muskingum 2-3 but bounced back with a win against conference opponent Pitt–Greensburg 3-0.

The Barons displayed powerful hitting and stout defense against the Fighting Muskies but eventually dropped the decisive fifth game 8-15.

"When we played hard, we were the best team on the floor," head coach Kelly Herrmann said. "We found ourselves playing tentative and you just cannot do that against a good team."

The Lady Barons took the lesson to heart and stepped up their play against the Bobcats, winning 25-16, 25-21, 25-16 to become .500 in the tournament. Pitt-Greensburg is a familiar opponent to Franciscan and provides a measurable vote of confidence for the young Barons squad.

"The girls were way more aggressive in this game," Herrmann said. "I felt like I could substitute anyone at any position. We were very confident."

Not only did FUS finish their first night of the season with confidence they were also able to give every girl on the roster playing time.

"We played everybody a lot," Herrmann said. "That's unusual to be able to do that in volleyball and be able to manage the game well. We had the opportunity to play different lineups and play everybody at different positions. The girls responded really well."

Captain Amy O'Keefe assisted her team 17 times against the Bobcats and both sophomore Dani Link and freshman Emily Baznik led the team with eight kills. Defensively, freshman Mary Moore had 17 digs and Link pitched in with 16 of her own.

"We are a very deep roster," Herrmann said. "We have the confidence to go to any girl at any time. We have nine matches in eight days. Developing our roster is our biggest priority. We are focused on the first third of our season and hoping to be better after the end of this stretch than we were at the beginning."

Franciscan will look to finish out the tournament with wins against Carlow and Allegheny College on Saturday August 31.