STEUBENVILLE, Ohio – The Lady Barons pulled out the upset against defending conference champions Penn St.-Behrend in a nail biting five set match 25-16, 25-23, 24-26, 12-25 and 16-14. With this win, the Lady Barons finish 7-2 in the conference and secure second place, earning them a first round bye and automatic qualification into the conference semifinals.

This win also marks the first time in program history that the Lady Barons have beaten Penn St.-Behrend, the last team the Lady Barons had yet to beat in the conference.

"Am I surprised that it took Franciscan this long to beat Behrend in a volleyball match?" Head Coach Kelly Herrmann said. "No, I'm not. I appreciate a team that brings their best and challenges us and makes us work for every point. That's why I respect their team so much."

Getting that first win over the Lions didn't come each with Behrend twice winning points with Franciscan at match point, including three straight points in the third set to turn the momentum of the match.

Leading the Lady Barons offense particularly in the tiebreaker set was junior outside hitter Dani Link. There was a moment in the second set when Link hit the floor hard and subbed herself out. Coming back into the match a few points later, she did not miss a beat, winning the point with a kill. Link finished with a season-high 22 kills.

"In the past, as a younger player, she wanted to be on the court for every point, even when she was struggling," Herrmann said. "I thought it was a sign of maturity that she subbed herself out of the back row and brought Mary in because she was feeling a little shaky."

A number of those 22 kills for Link came in crucial moments including the eventual game winning attack that hit the back corner of the court.

Matching Link's strong offensive performance was sophomore right side hitter Emily Baznik who played one of her best games of the season. Baznik had a few key kills in each set to continue to keep the Lady Barons close with Behrend, finishing with 10 kills and only two errors despite being subbed in and out.

"Emily hit extremely well," Herrmann said. "Her play hitting on the right side was really great."

The Lady Barons move into the conference semifinals as the no. 2 seed and will face the winner of no.3 Medaille vs. no.6 LaRoche in the first round. The Lady Barons beat Medaille but lost to Bradford in the regular season, both matches lasting four sets.

"We battled to get to second place, and I'm proud of that," Herrmann said. "It's a clean slate going into the playoffs. You have to prepare for each team and be ready to go."

The Lady Barons will play in the conference semifinals against the winner of Medaille/LaRoche at Penn St.-Altoona on November 8 at 4:30 pm.