LATROBE, Pa. - Franciscan women's volleyball swept day two of the Bearcat Challenge with a five-set win over host St. Vincent in game one and a three-set win against Waynesburg in game two.

"It was a good day," head coach Kelly Herrmann said. "I told the girls to come out of this tournament 3-1, after losing the first game of the tournament 5-25, that's good. To win two five-game matches against good teams, we should be really proud. It was a good weekend."

Despite the long five-set match against Frostburg State late last night, the Lady Barons came out with a lot of energy against the Bearcats of Saint Vincent, winning the first five points, eventually building up to a 10-1 lead.

The Bearcats went on a run of their own, swinging the momentum which they carried to a first set victory.

The next two sets belonged to the Lady Barons, though, as the team finally started to cut down on the hitting and service errors. Freshman outside hitter Maria Ciola hit especially well in the middle sets, taking a lot of confident swings and finishing with 12 kills against the Bearcats.

"Maria's offense is tremendous," Herrmann said. "She has a lot of composure, and to see that kind of composure early in the season in her freshman year, that's a great thing."

The fourth set was more of a battle, as the Bearcats were not going down without a fight, as the fifth set would later prove.

Sophomore right side hitter Bella Wedig started out the fifth set with three consecutive kills on her way to a 20-kill career night.

"Bella, they had no answer for," Herrmann said. "She hit the ball through and around a lot of blocks. There were times when the block was there and she powered right through it."

Saint Vincent continued to fight and was able to tie the game at 10. A few points later, Franciscan found itself down 12-11 in the final set. Herrmann then called a timeout and was able to inspire her girls to win the next four points to take the set and the match.

"To beat the host team in a loud gym like that when they win the fourth game, that's tough," Herrmann said. "Definitely, in a five set match, when you win the fourth game, you have the momentum going back into the fifth, and you have to really take it away from them. The girls did that."

The final score of the Saint Vincent match was 22-25, 25-15, 25-23, 19-25 and 15-12.

The second game against Waynesburg was much more routine as the Lady Barons came out absolutely dominant, only allowing three points in the first set.

"When we are aggressive, good things happen," Herrmann said.

The following two sets were a little more competitive but Franciscan did not relinquish control one bit. In fact, Waynesburg's only lead of the game came early on in the third set and only lasted for one point.

The Lady Barons now have a week to rest up and recover before participating in the Marcia French Memorial Invitational, hosted by Baldwin Wallace University, next weekend. Next matches are September 11 against Hiram and Baldwin Wallace at 5:30 and 7:30 respectively.