WOOSTER, Ohio – The Lady Barons played some of their best offensive volleyball of the season, losing in five sets to second-time opponent Wooster 23-25, 26-24, 25-23, 17-25, and 10-15. The Lady Barons made a lot of adjustments coming into this second meeting, improving over their straight set loss earlier in the year.

"We managed our rotations really well," head coach Kelly Hermann said. "We stayed aggressive enough to always stay within one or two points. When you do that, you always have a good chance to win."

Senior setter/right side hitter Amy O'Keefe led the Lady Baron's offensive attack with a season high 17 kills, along with 28 assists and 13 digs. O'Keefe has continued her strong offensive season with one of the team's highest hitting percentages, an unusual situation for most setters.

Thanks in large part to O'Keefe's efforts both as a hitter and a setter, the team finished with a .128 hitting percentage on the night; one of their strongest offensive performances of the season.

"If you take that fourth game out of there, that was definitely our best hitting performance," Hermann said. "Against a good team, they hit the ball pretty hard. If you don't hit the ball hard at them, then you are putting too much pressure on your defense. In the fourth game, that's kind of what we started to do."

Junior outside hitter Dani Link also had a strong night with 11 kills and 12 digs. Hermann said that Link has been so effective recently because she has given the team's top hitter less to worry about on the court.

"In the last couple matches, we stopped having her serve, and it seems to be working pretty well," Hermann said. "It gives her one less thing to worry about so she can focus more on her hitting and defense, which is where we need her."

Also contributing offensively for the second match in a row was sophomore Emily Baznik. Throughout the season Baznik has been moving back and forth between middle hitter and right side hitter. Baznik adjusted particularly well moving back to the right side in this match, finishing with seven kills and a .400 hitting percentage.

"Emily played extremely well; hitting, blocking, setting second balls," Hermann said about Baznik's performance. "She had a really good performance on the right side. Her hitting percentage on the night was fabulous."

The match against Wooster wraps up a tough non-conference schedule for the Lady Barons. Hermann said that the team has accomplished what they needed to accomplish in their non-conference schedule and that they look forward to conference play.

"We went out and were challenged to play good volleyball by a lot of good volleyball teams. Now, as we get in the conference, we are settling down," Hermann said. "Our goal is to win the conference championship, and that's what we plan to do, one match at a time."

The Lady Barons will start conference play on the road against D'Youville College and Hilbert College on September 27 at 1 and 3:30 pm.