STEUBENVILLE - Less than 24 hours after a tough five-set loss on the road, Franciscan women's volleyball bounced back to beat nonconference foe Chatham in straight sets 25-4, 25-12 and 25-15 in front of a packed Homecoming crowd.

"It's really cool to see our team come out strong after we got back very late last night," head coach Kelly Herrmann said. "We were really fired up today because it's Parents Weekend, and Chatham is an up-and-coming team. Marc really has them headed in the right direction. They've got some girls who can hit and some girls who can play."

Franciscan came out dominant right from the beginning, scoring 10 points before the Cougars could even get on the board and only allowing four points in the entire first set. Senior outside hitter Dani Link led the team with four kills in the first set, the only set she played in all afternoon.

The first set also saw the return of sophomore right side hitter Bella Wedig from injury. Wedig has missed the past eight matches and came back with a bang, leading the Lady Barons offense with six kills.

"Bella hit the ball really well," Herrmann said. "Having her back was huge. She'll help us."

After such a dominant first set, Herrmann made some changes in the lineup for the second and third set and was able to get everyone who was eligible to play some time on the court.

"It was really nice that everybody could play," Herrmann said. "Obviously the girls who do not start and sometimes do not get to play, they mean so much to our team. We just want to get them to have chances on the court, and the starters feel that so they work hard enough to get them on the court. It was neat to see that when our subs were in, the starters were on the sidelines, being fired up for them and helping them in the same way that those girls help the starters."

Sophomore outside hitter Monica Fischer, one of the Lady Barons most valuable subs, was able to play in the final two sets and finished with three kills.

"You just always have certain subs that you need to save in certain positions," Herrmann said. "Unfortunately for Monica, but fortunately for our team, we have somebody who is such a capable player as that person, but that means a lot of matches she doesn't get to play. It's great to see players like her come in and Monica always plays well in any situation we need her."

Other notable performances came from freshmen Callahan Hickey and Maria Ciola who each finished with four kills, tied for the Lady Barons' second-leading attacker along with Link.

Franciscan is in the midst of its conference schedule but cannot neglect the importance of nonconference opponents like Chatham in helping the team learn and prepare for the rest of the season.

"It's an important time in our season, so we're happy about that," Herrmann said. "All the girls have things to work on so that's what we need to focus on is everybody helping and doing their part, whatever it is."

The Lady Barons next match will be on October 6 at 7 p.m. as the team plays host to conference opponent La Roche.