STEUBENVILLE - Despite improved confidence on the court, the Franciscan volleyball team suffered a 3-0 loss to Wooster, Tuesday night, with a line up that showcased the freshman talent on the team. 

"In the first set we played like freshmen," remarked head coach Kelly Herrmann. "We had too many mistakes but if you look at our line up we had a lot of freshman out on the court. We just have to calm down and continue to develop our offense and figure out where people fit the best."

The Fighting Scots jumped out to a 5-0 lead in the first set and really set the pace of the play as kept the Lady Barons from really developing any type of rhythm on offense. Wooster took a 1-0 lead in the match with a 25-8 first set win. 

Franciscan responded in the second set and used a 3-0 run of their own to open the set with a 3-0 lead. The Fighting Scots chipped away and eventually took a 5-3 lead. The lead would not last long as the two teams engaged in a back and forth battle. With the set on the line, freshman Maria Bosco finished off a kill that staved off the set point but Wooster closed out the set with a kill of their own to take a 2-0 lead in the match with the 25-23 win. 

"I am really pleased with how Maria [Bosco] is playing," remarked Coach Herrmann. "For being a slightly undersized middle, Maria is very aggressive and has a great swing."

The two teams engaged in another tight battle in the third set before the Fighting Scots pulled away, 16-12. The Lady Barons never gave up their fight, however, kept the set close. Wooster hung close, however, and closed out the match with a 25-15 win in the final set. 

Senior Maria Ciola led the Lady Barons with seven kills while freshman Emily Nutter handed out 12 assists and posted seven digs. Freshman Becky Murgia posted seven digs as well. 

"Maria does a great job on the outside for us," continued Coach Herrmann. "I was also very pleased with how Emily played today. We went into a 5-1 and let her play in the front row. She is just a steady player and did a good job in the front today.

"We have to keep getting people more comfortable on the court and continue to improve so that hopefully by conference play, we are playing better volleyball."

The Lady Barons have the chance to get more comfortbale on their home court as they host Marietta on Thursday for a 7:00 pm match.