BEREA, Ohio - Franciscan women's volleyball lost two tight matches against tough nonconference opponents Hiram and Baldwin Wallace in day one of the Marcia French Memorial Invitational tournament.

The first match had an interesting start as the Lady Barons arrived late and did not get much of a warm up as a result. Despite the extenuating circumstances, Franciscan was still able to carry a lead late into the set before Hiram tied the set at 17 and was able to pull away with a final score of 25-23.

"I thought that, really, given the situation, they played pretty well," head coach Kelly Herrmann said. "Particularly in the first game, I expected us to really struggle in the first game since we weren't really warmed up, but we didn't. We hung in there. We played okay. We played aggressivel. The whole match was like that."

The second set followed suit with the Lady Barons jumping out to an early lead and maintaining it when Hiram pulled away yet again late in the set.

Led by senior outside hitter Dani Link, Franciscan was able to outlast the Lady Terriers 26-24 in the third set. Link was the team's leading attacker with nine kills in the first match.

"She is such a tremendous hitter," Herrmann said. "She can hit anywhere on the court, just such a weapon. As we continue to work with Becca Haven with our hitters, that's just going to get better and better."

The Lady Barons were unable to carry that momentum over to the fourth set, losing 25-10.

The second match presented another unique challenge as the Lady Barons took on Baldwin Wallace, always a strong opponent, on their home court. Franciscan was able to jump out to an early lead in first two sets thanks to a strong blocking presence by junior middle hitter Ellie Waldsmith. That early lead wasn't enough to put away the Yellow Jackets, who won in straight sets 25-19, 25-21 and 25-17.

"It's encouraging," Herrmann said about the team's ability to compete against strong nonconference opponents. "We don't have very many situations any more where we go up against a team and just struggle to be on the court with them. I feel like our girls always give a great effort."

Franciscan will face two more tough nonconference opponents in Carnegie Mellon and Case Western in day two of the Marcia French Memorial Invitational on September 12 at 10 am and 12 pm at Case Western Reserve University.