PITTSBURGH, Pa– Despite a late start to their match, the Lady Barons Volleyball team quickly defeated the winless Chatham University Cougars 3-0 (25-20, 22-13, 22-14).

Franciscan's strategy to blank out the Cougars was to punish their back court defense. The Lady Barons launched serve after serve, racking up 11 aces in their three game match.

"We tried to take advantage of their biggest weakness," Head Coach Kelly Herrmann said. "This is a team that can be concerning because of their record. We wanted to make sure we didn't lack the focus to beat them."

The Lady Barons took the opportunity in this match to boost their confidence going into a rough next week against Denison and Muskingum. Herrmann wanted to use this match to demonstrate to her players just how dominant they can be.

"It's all a matter of building confidence," Herrmann said. "Every team we play has solid college players. Mentally, if you are not prepared you can make mistakes that can alter the match."

Mental mistakes plagued FUS in the beginning of their season but over the last four games the Lady Barons have shown significant improvement. Newcomer, Maryanna Leonard demonstrated their team's focus by coming off the bench with five kills and only one error.

"She is one of those players that doesn't always start," Herrmann said. "She did a really amazing job hitting and blocking and it great to see her make the best of the time she had on the court."

Veteran Junior Amy O'Keefe also demonstrated mental awareness by recording six kills, three aces and no errors in front of her family who are Pittsburgh natives.

"She had such a strong performance," Herrmann said. "She did almost everything perfectly."

As a team the Barons overcame a half hour delay of the match because the referees arrived late.

"It's kind of a funny thing but some people really rely on their pre-game consistency," Herrmann said. "We got their very early to get our reps in and then we found ourselves just sitting for a half hour. Some girls were getting antsy just but I kept telling them to stay patient and be ready at any moment. It was a big testament to this team."

After finally finding consistency in their mental awareness and offensive power, the Lady Barons will move into a tough week against veteran opponents. FUS will look to ride their momentum into their next game against Denison University.