STEUBENVILLE - the Franciscan University women's volleyball team demonstrated encouraging team chemistry during a 3-0 straight-sets loss to the visiting Baldwin Wallace Yellow Jackets, Monday evening.

Suiting up without star outside hitter Maria Ciola, the Lady Barons nevertheless found themselves in a tightly contested first set. Seeing extended court time because of Ciola's absence, freshman outside hitter Anna Telepak made the most of the opportunity, counting herself among several successfully constructed points early. 

After a kill from senior setter/right hitter Theresa Moore leveled the score at 2-2, the Yellow Jackets pulled away from the Lady Barons, in a run of 10 points that saw Franciscan registered just a single point of their own.

A well-timed timeout from Head Coach Kelly Hermann briefly halted the Baldwin Wallace advances, while kills from sophomore outside hitter/defensive specialist Maddie Raffa and senior team captain Monica Rigaud allowed Franciscan to reclaim three successive points.

As the first set reached its latter stages, the Yellow Jackets maintained a healthy lead, one that eventually extended into double-digits. Down 20-13, the Lady Barons were unable to regain the opportunity to serve, surrendering the final five points and the set. 

After a brief side change, the second set commenced, and the Lady Barons immediately showed signs of erasing their one-set deficit. Kills from Telepak and sophomore right hitter Meghan Bayer, punctuated by a service ace from sophomore defensive specialist Mandy Demos, provided Franciscan with a 4-1 lead. 

That lead soon became a 7-5 Franciscan deficit, one that Baldwin Wallace quickly extended to 12-7. Another Franciscan timeout couldn't hinder two successful Yellow Jacket runs of five points, a collective effort that soon provided Baldwin Wallace with set point, up 24-11. Franciscan was able to erase three such points, thanks to a Rigaud kill and talented Demos serving, before Baldwin Wallace concluded the set on its own terms, 25-14.

A solid Baldwin Wallace front line and minimal transitional mistakes provided the Yellow Jackets with a 2-0 sets lead, though the Lady Barons notably took the court at the onset of the third set with the same enthusiasm that characterized their efforts thus far in the season.

As they did in the second set, the Lady Barons jumped to a 4-1 lead in the third, an effort typified by kills by several new faces on the court, including freshman outside hitter Gaby Bridon. Another service ace from Demos lit up the Lady Baron sideline, but in typical Baldwin Wallace, the Yellow Jackets responded with a dominant nine-point run. A block error would briefly suspend their string of points before a Raffa kill and a Bayer service ace gave the Lady Barons a brief stint of life. 

Another seven-point run threatened to conclude the night the Lady Barons, and after a Rigaud kill, the Yellow Jackets took the final two points to put their 25-10 third set in the books, statistically the most dominant for the Yellow Jackets on the evening. 

The Lady Barons move to 3-9 on the season, and must quickly regroup for their Wednesday home matchup against formidable conference opponent Penn St.-Altoona.