LATROBE, Pa. – Lady Baron volleyball kicked off the 2014 season by showcasing its depth in two 3-0 wins at the St. Vincent College Bearcat Challenge. Franciscan won 26-24, 25-23, 25-14 over Frostburg State University and 25-23, 25-23, 26-24 against Carlow University.

The night didn't start well for FUS, with the team falling into a 10-2 deficit to Frostburg but after a timeout they began to chip away at the lead.

"We said, 'ok, we're not going to panic'. Sometimes you just have a slow start to a match. In volleyball that's not a death sentence," Head Coach Kelly Herrmann said. "We just kind of whittled away, whittled away and got back into it."

Eventually the Lady Barons won the set 26-24 on their way to the 3-0 victory. What made that win, and the win over Carlow, particularly impressive was the team's ability to play consistently well despite Herrmann substituting often and deep into the roster to test their depth.

"We were playing a lot of people and even in that scenario we were able to maintain our composure and win the games late," Herrmann said. "That's a lot harder to do when you're playing a lot of people, so I was really happy with the girls."

One player who particularly pleased Herrmann was junior outside hitter Dani Link who looked confident and comfortable regardless of whom she shared floor with.

Against Frostburg, Link was a force both offensively and defensively, totaling team-highs with 33 digs and 12 kills. Despite less playing time in the Carlow game, Link again led the team with 11 kills and added another 11 digs.

"There is a huge difference in the play of Dani Link," Herrmann said. "Last season she was trying to figure out her role and now she gets it. She's hitting the ball extremely well and the depth behind her has really pushed her."

Franciscan's depth was even more apparent in the win over Carlow when Herrmann decided to rest All-Conference libero Sam Kelly and start middle hitter Anna Tolkach.

To replace Kelly, Christina Lawrence, normally an outside hitter, moved to libero and racked up 35 digs in her new position. Seeing significant minutes next to Lawrence on the back line was sophomore Rachel Potopa who played the best game of her young career with 14 digs, 9 assists, and 4 aces.

"She is a completely different player from last year," Herrmann said of Potopa. "She played great defense tonight and she'll help us a ton this season."

Between the two games, 15 of the team's 18 players were able to make it onto the court. Herrmann said that while depth is what a successful program needs, it can also be a challenge to team and she is happy with how her players handled that challenge.

"You have to learn to play next to different people at different times and that's hard," Herrmann said. "We have a lot of things to work on but I'll take the variable of tremendous teamwork and being selfless over talent any day and all of our girls are like that."

The Lady Barons will continue onto day 2 of the SVC Bearcat Challenge on August 30 with games against Allegheny College at 1 pm and Waynesburg University at 5 pm.