STEUBENVILLE - Against undefeated Carnegie Mellon opposition, the Franciscan volleyball team took to Hanka Kuzma Court at Franciscan University, in front of packed Finnegan Fieldhouse bleachers, for the first official home game of the semester.

Though the Lady Barons entered the contest with a 1-7 record, against the 13th-ranked women's volleyball squad in the nation, they held their own as competition commenced. Courtesy of a Maria Ciola kill and two straight Carnegie Mellon errors, the Lady Barons held a 6-4 lead after ten points were played.

Neither team could gain more than a two-point lead over the other in the first set, until such time as a service ace put the visiting Tartans up three. Even so, Franciscan kept the score close down the stretch, as impressive play by freshman setter/defensive specialist Sydney Riley and timely hitting by outside hitter Maddie Raffa helped to keep the Lady Barons in the set late.

Despite courageous play late in the first, two straight Carnegie Mellon service aces at 22-19 distanced the Tartans just enough to put the set away. A Lady Baron error put a 25-19 first set into the record books.

After the teams changed ends of the court, the second set began, and it was immediately evident that while the Tartans were functioning with increased consistency as a holistic unit, Head Coach Kelly Hermann was going to keep her team in the competition. The fans kept audible on-court noise to an encouraging roar, and the Lady Barons fed off of every bit of energy coming their way. 

Two early kills from sophomore right hitter Meghan Bayer helped to erase an early deficit, and Raffa added two kills of her own to keep the Lady Barons within one point of the Tartans. Winning 9-8 in the second set, Franciscan became the victim of a 10-2 Carnegie Mellon run, characterized by solid back row hitting and several punctual kills. Though the Lady Barons regrouped behind two consecutive Tartan errors and another Bayer kill, hey could only bring the set deficit to within five before the Tartans served the set out on their own terms, at 25-17. 

After switching sides in anticipation of the third set, Carnegie Mellon played like a team possessed, reeling off nine straight points at 2-1, thanks to uncharacteristic Lady Baron attack errors, and several decisive kills. However, the momentum swung tangibly at 15-5, behind Bayer's steady serving. Bayer served five straight points, during which time kills by Raffa and junior outside hitter Maria Ciola. 

A four point Carnegie Mellon run again allowed the Tartans to accrue a ten point lead, but three consecutive errors by the visiting opposition during Raffa's serves and quality serving by junior setter/right hitter Theresa Moore enlivened the Lady Barons starters, bench, and the entire support system in the bleachers.

Carnegie Mellon called a brief timeout at 23-21, and was gifted a break when Ciola netted a kill opportunity. Ciola redeemed herself a point later with a successful kill, excellently assisted by stellar freshman setter/defensive specialist Sydney Riley. The Tartans closed the match out on the next point, sending a kill of their own just past Ciola's reach.

Despite the loss, Hermann stressed how proud she was of her team's performance during her post-match interview. Citing the team's record and preseason injuries, she maintained that Franciscan volleyball appears on-track for a deep postseason run. 

Franciscan heads to Buffalo, NY to face Hilbert and Medaille as the Lady Barons open AMCC action on Saturday in the conference quad match.