BEAVER FALLS, Pa. – The Franciscan volleyball team dropped a pair of matches to non-conference opponents Chatham and Geneva, Wednesday evening. Franciscan dropped a 3-1 decision to Chatham to open the evening before falling to Geneva 3-0 in the last match of the night.

Franciscan struggled to get a consistent offense in the opening set before sophomore Maddie Raffa posted three-straight kills to pull the Lady Barons to 24-18 but Franciscan fell 25-18 in the first set.

The Lady Barons jumped out to a 6-3 lead in the second set and tied it at 7-7, and eventually led 14-12, but Chatham used a 6-1 run and a 4-1 run to eventually take a 23-16 lead. After a Chatham side out made it 24-17, Franciscan earned back to back points off attack errors by Chatham. The Cougars hung on and took a 2-0 lead in the match after a Franciscan service error.

 Franciscan rebounded in the third set and fought back late. Trailing 16-12, the Lady Barons used a 9-1 run to swing momentum back into their favor with a 21-17 lead. Chatham battled back and took a 23-22 lead but a Cougar service error and a Meghan Bayer service ace gave Franciscan the 25-22 lead and forced a fourth set.

Chatham took an early 13-3 lead in the fourth set and held on for the 25-10 win to take the match, 3-1.

"We did not come out playing particularly well and have to remember that our focus is delicate sometimes and that's something that we do need to work on," remarked head coach Kelly Herrmann. "We talked a lot about having to play really well against every opponent and to stay focused despite some distractions."

Geneva had lost to Chatham 3-2 after being up 2-0 in the match and leading in the third set earlier in the evening and came out strong against the Lady Barons.

The Golden Tornadoes took the first two sets 25-7 before taking the third set 25-10 to win the match.

"Geneva came out just on fire," remarked Coach Herrmann. "We tried to play some different girls tonight. I reminded our girls that these aren't our conference opponents, and these are the matches that we can use to grow and get better.

While I am not really happy with how we played, I am extremely happy with our attitude today," continued Coach Herrmann. "Even down to the last point, the team was cheering and encouraging each other on. We were diving for balls and working hard until the very end and I am happy with that."

Franciscan looks to continue to grow as the Lady Barons host Washington & Jefferson on Saturday at 2:00 pm on Homecoming.