Franciscan 3, Washington & Jefferson 1

Franciscan Starters 
Renee Antonelli, Emily Nutter, Caitlin O'Malley, Lucy Pridemore, Maria Bosco, Emma McDonald & libero - Sara Moore  

Washington & Jefferson Starters 
Platt, Bertling, Blough, Kovel, Carmichael, Tomassini & libero - Sacriponte

How It Happened 
The Lady Barons were able to pull off the season sweep over Washington & Jefferson with a four set win on Saturday. The Lady Barons were able to snap their six game losing streak, by winning their first home game of the season.

After a Renee Antonelli kill to start the game, the Presidents responded with a 4-0 run. Franciscan was able to climb back and tie it at four on a big kill from Maria Bosco. Washington & Jefferson would fight back to take the lead at 8-6. Franciscan would then go on an 8-0 run with seven straight services by Brynn Jacobson. Four of the seven serves were aces. After a couple of Presidents points, Franciscan extended the lead some more with a 5-0 run to set the score at 19-10. The Presidents would only be able to get within five of the lead the rest of the way, as Franciscan would take set one by a score of 25-17.

Franciscan started off much stronger in set number two, as Renee Antonelli and Brynn Jacobson had a pair of kills in route to an early 6-1 lead. Washington & Jefferson was able to fight back to within one at 6-7. Franciscan would then take off on a 4-0 run with a pair of kills by Lucy Pridemore. Another Franciscan 54-0 run would happen shortly , and the Lady Barons had a 15-8 edge. Washington & Jefferson would not quit, as they were able to tie this set up at 18-18. After exchanging two points each way, Franciscan would make their run. Emily Nutter had a kill and Cailtin O'Malley added an ace on the way to a 24-20 lead. The Presidents would score three more points to make it close, but Franciscan was able to close out the set 25-23. 

It was all Franciscan in set three, as they would have a firm control on the set with a 16-9 lead. Just when Franciscan thought they were in control, Washington & Jefferson would come storming back and tie this one up at 20-20. The Presidents would keep up the momentum with a 5-1 run to end it shock Franciscan by winning the set.

Head Coach Jordan Barton had the tough task of rallying the team and keeping belief up after losing the third set. The Lady Barons came out strong in set four, as they took an 8-1 lead. O'Malley and Antonelli each had a pair of kills in the early going. Franciscan kept their foot on the gas, as they were able to push their lead all the way up to 16-5. A 5-0 Presidents run would start to tighten the gap. Pridemore would snap the run with a kill. Franciscan would be able to hold the lead at 21-14, but then the Presidents would tighten it up with a 5-1 run to be within two at 23-21. Thankfully Franciscan was able to close out this set 25-22.

Inside the Numbers 
- Renee Antonelli led Franciscan with 14 kills.
- Sara Moore had a team-high 20 digs.
- Emily Nutter had her 8th game of the year with 30 or more assists with 33 today.
- Franciscan had 12 aces with Brynn Jacobson having five of them.
- Washington & Jefferson held a higher kill percentage than Franciscan over the four sets at .148.

Who's Next? 
Franciscan will return to action on Monday at home against Bethany. This is a makeup game for their matchup that was originally scheduled to be at Geneva in a tri-match on October 2nd. This is Franciscan's first matchup of the year against Bethany. Bethany is 11-1 all-time against Franciscan. Franciscan earned their lone win in 2019 at Bethany. Meghan Bayer had 17 kills and Renee Antonelli added 11 in the four set win. 

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