ERIE, Pa. - Franciscan volleyball closed out the regular season with an exciting four-set win - 25-16, 28-26, 20-25 and 25-11 - on the road against Penn State Behrend, clinching the no. 3 seed in the postseason tournament.

The Lady Barons had only beaten Behrend once before in program history in an five-set thriller to end the regular season last year. To top it all off, the Lady Lions came into the match tied for second in the conference with a 6-2 record.

"No matter who is on the other side of the net, you have to play like a team, and we stressed that before the match," head coach Kelly Herrmann said. "I think this match today was a great team victory for all girls on the court and on the bench. Today was our day, but they're a good team and we could see them again in the playoffs. They are such a solid program. I have great respect for Phil."

Junior middle hitter Ellie Waldsmith made her way back from injury to play in the regular season finale after missing the past five matches. The junior's presence in the middle had an immediate impact on the match as Waldsmith finished with seven kills and only one error.

"Ellie was very frustrated with being out so long and she just came back ready and mentally ready as much as anything," Herrmann said. "She was just so excited to be back on the court. She's not a super emotional player so she's not the type that can get over excited. She was just excited and ready and from the start of the game, she just made the best of it."

Having Waldsmith back also made a huge impact on the team's blocking. Along with fellow junior middle hitter Emily Baznik, the two combined for 5.5 of the team's 13 blocks. Behrend's offense felt the pressure from the Lady Barons' blocking game and only hit .019 percent on the night.

"Emily and Ellie were tremendous blocking," Herrmann said. "We saw real balance from the front row from the middles in this game, and that's kind of what we've been looking for all year. That was another big key to our victory."

Leadership from the team's veterans was another big key to the Lady Barons win as senior outside hitters Dani Link and Christina Lawrence led the team offensively with 14 and 11 kills respectively. Lawrence had more of an impact in the beginning of the game while Link raised her intensity to finish out the game strong.

"Leadership is so important," Herrmann said. "We have had some tough losses this year but I feel like we've learned a lot and I feel like the seniors have been very attentive in that process. That shows in the match today. They know that this is crunch time. They know that these matches matter most. They want to be playing their best volleyball heading into the playoffs. They were just completely determined out there and you saw that from the start of the game until the end."

Herrmann especially credited Link as the senior transitioned back to outside hitter for the Behrend match after playing middle for the past five matches in Waldsmith's absence.

"Everybody learns something in their volleyball career from match to match and year to year over their four years," Herrmann said. "Dani's willingness to just help the team win and want to win has been a great example to all of our players. I really think when you respond faithfully in difficult situations, God is going to bless you for your faithfulness. I feel like Dani was really blessed today by her faithfulness and her selflessness, doing whatever we needed her to do. She was definitely a leader on the court as the match went on."

Clinching the no. 3 seed for the postseason tournament, the Lady Barons will host no. 6 seeded Mount Aloysius in the first round. The two teams just played three days ago with the Mounties coming out on top of the Lady Barons in four sets. Franciscan is looking for a different outcome the second time around as the winning team moves on to play no. 2 Penn State Altoona in the semifinals.

"We were looking at this game as sort of the first round of the playoffs for us," Herrmann said. "We'll be ready. If we play like today, we'll be fine. I think everybody really gets it. We're just going to prepare as best we can and go out and play the best volleyball we can. Certainly this match gave us a good measure of confidence."

Franciscan will host no. 6 Mount Aloysius in the first round of the AMCC tournament on Wednesday, November 4, at 7 p.m.