ALTOONA, Pa.—The Lady Barons overcame challenges both on and off the court in a tough conference match against Penn State-Altoona, losing in four sets 25-19, 23-25, 20-25, and 24-26.

The challenges started for the team before the match even began with heavy traffic, a late arrival, and a bus breakdown, but the Lady Barons battled back and took the set late.

"It was their first home game. They were excited. It was kind of a noisy gym and the girls kind of let that emotion take over in that first game," Herrmann said. "But I was very proud of the way they battled back."

Leading the way with serves late in the first set was junior outside hitter Dani Link. While the FUS athlete has not served in the past few matches, Herrmann decided to give her the chance to serve, knowing that Link always plays well in her hometown, Altoona. Link finished with 8 kills and 21 digs on the night.

"I think that Dani felt a lot of pressure in this match because she just wants to play well, wants to do so well in front of the home crowd, and it can be tough on players like that," Hermann said. "But she served well. She didn't let that affect her game at all."

The Lady Barons' offense went back and forth between aggressive and tentative, but Hermann said sophomore middle hitter Ana Tolkach was able to provide consistency in the later sets, finishing with a team-high of 16 kills.

The middle position overall proved to be solid for the Lady Barons throughout the night, with freshman middle hitter Maria Hruby coming in during the third set to make a difference.

"I thought she did a good job being aggressive and going for balls, not tipping, just playing a more confident middle," Herrmann said.

Substitutions like Hruby's also afforded the Lady Barons a few different options in their game plan. Senior right side hitter Jackie Zucco came in for injured sophomore setter Rachel Potopa, allowing the team to run a different offense, led by senior setter Amy O'Keefe.

"When Amy is setting in a 5-1 [offense], it gives our middles a chance to run slides," Herrmann said. "It creates a little more space up at the net and we stretch out the defense a little bit more."

The match against Penn State-Altoona marks the Lady Barons' sixth consecutive match on the road. Hermann said that the string of away games takes its toll on the players, who are excited to return home for their next match.

"But this is just good practice for life, good practice managing your time," Herrmann said. "When you are a volleyball player and you are saying yes to volleyball, you have to say no to a lot of things. There is value in all of that, and the challenges teach them a lot."

The Lady Barons will return home for their Homecoming Weekend match against Medaille College on October 4 at 2 pm.