STEUBENVILLE – Behind strong hitting from the Lady Baron front line, the Franciscan volleyball team improved to 3-2 in the AMCC with a 3-1 win over Mt. Aloysius, Wednesday evening.

"Does this mean we are there yet," asked head coach Kelly Herrmann. "No, but this is a step in the right direction and getting more consistent and will take the 3-2 record and keep moving forward. On Friday, we want to play good volleyball."

In front of an electric home crowd, the Lady Barons and Mounties were locked in a tight battle with the score tied 12-12. Monica Rigaud got a quick set from senior setter Rachel Potopa and hit it hard to the floor to give the serve back to Franciscan and give the Lady Barons a 13-12 lead. Senior Mary Moore served tough for the Lady Barons and ran the score up to 17-12 in favor of FUS. The two teams traded the next three points until Franciscan used a three-point and four-point run at the end of the set to take a 1-0 lead in the match behind a 25-12 win.

The Lady Barons came out swinging in the second set and quickly took a 7-3 lead behind six kills from four different players. The Mounties got the serve back after a Franciscan service error and took their first lead of the game, 9-8 behind four-straight points. The Mountie eventually built a 18-15 lead but the Lady Barons weren't backing down and chipped away until the score was tied 19-19 and soon took a 21-19 lead. Mount Aloysius tied the game at 21-21 but once again Moore got back to the service line and served three-straight point to seal the win, 25-21 and give the Lady Barons a 2-0 match lead.

Franciscan once again jumped out to a 7-3 lead but it would be short-lived as Mount Aloysius rallied to take an 11-9 lead. After three quick FUS points, the Lady Barons held the 12-11 advantage but the two teams exchanged the next several pints until Mount Aloysius took a 18-15 lead. The Lady Barons got two points back at 18-17 but the Mounties would not relinquish their lead and went on to win 25-21 and force a fourth set.

The Mounties appeared poised to force a fifth and deciding set as they took an early 7-3 lead. The Lady Barons had a different game plan, however, and tied the game at 11-11. Mount Aloysius made another strong push and took the lead back at 20-15. Relying on the strong serving of freshman Maddy Demos, the Lady Barons pulled to within one, 20-19. Franciscan then took a 23-22 lead thanks to a Mountie attack error but Mount Aloysius tied it at 23-23. Franciscan earned their first match point off a kill from sophomore Maria Ciola but Mount Aloysius answered with two points for the Mounties first set point at 25-24. Freshman Roz Pridemore and sophomore Becca Haven landed back-to-back kills for the second match point at 26-25 and a Mountie attack error put the game away at 27-25 in favor of Franciscan and closed the match with a 3-1 win for the Lady Barons.

"Maddy has a very good serve and she came in and served well at a crucial time," continued coach Herrmann.

Freshman Maddie Raffa and Ciola each finished with 13 kills while Haven posted a double-double for the Lady Barons with 10 kills and 36 assists. Moore finished the day with 17 digs.

The Lady Baron blocking was excellent tonight as the team finished with 9.0 blocks. Pridemore had a pair of solo blocks and block assists while Annie Nehrbas and Rigaud each had three block assists to go with a solo block.

"We blocked really well, we hit really well and managed our errors and this certainly was a good step in the right direction," said coach Herrmann.

Franciscan returns to action on Friday as the Lady Barons host Oberlin at 7pm.