Franciscan 3, Chatham 2
Franciscan Starters
Renee Antonelli, Gracie Francis, Meghan Hickey, Rani Hebert, Grace Wallace, Gabrielle Disselkamp & libero - Sara Moore
Chatham Starters
Pepperman, Williams, Taney, Bogovich, Horan, Leskovac
How It Happened
Franciscan Women's Volleyball hosted Chatham on Wednesday night, and the Barons came out with all the energy. They translated that into wins in the first two sets, but then dropped the next two sets. They put together a clutch late run in set five to pull out the five set win, their first five set win since beating Waynesburg last season.
The Barons jumped out to a 5-3 lead in set one with early kills from Disselkamp and Luebbers. Chatham regained the lead with 3-0 run, but the Barons would strike back quickly to take the lead back at 7-6. Meghan Hickey picked up her first of three aces on the night to give the Barons their seventh point. Antonelli would then get her big offensive day going with a couple of kills to get Franciscan the edge at 15-13. Hebert would also add a couple kills to set the score at 21-17, as everyone was clicking, and Franciscan seemed to be in control. The Cougars would strike though with a 4-0 run to tie it up at 21-21. A service error gave Franciscan the lead, and then a pair of freshman delivered decisive kills with Luebbers and Francis stepping up late to give the Barons the first set.
It did not get any easier in set two, as the Cougars took an early 6-2 lead. The Barons would respond with a 4-0 run on Hickey's serve to tie it back up at 6-6. The Cougars would regain control, as a strong run would get them out to a 15-10 lead. The Barons answered the call with an 8-0 run, their largest run of the night, to get bak into this set. Antonelli had three kills and Disselkamp had a pair of aces in this run. Antonelli would keep it up, as she led the Barons on a 7-2 run to close out the second set and give Franciscan a 2-0 advantage.
Set three and four did not go as planned, as the Cougars battled back hard. A back and forth start to set three would put Franciscan in the lead at 10-9. Each team would go on a run before it would be all tied up at 14-14. The Cougars would go on an 11-2 run to close out the third set and grab all the momentum. Set four would be all Cougars to start, as they grabbed a 12-6 lead. The Barons clawed their way back into this one, as they would cut the lead to one at 17-16. Luebbers and Antonelli each had two points in a 4-0 run to get it close, but the Cougars would go on a late 4-0 run to put this set out of reach. They would win the set to send us to a fifth, winner-take-all set.
With the final set being played to just 15, each point felt like it was worth so much more. The Barons would get behind early, once again, as the Cougars took a 5-2 lead. Sarah Wallace added her fourth kill of the night to stop the run and spark Franciscan on a 3-0 run to tie it up at 5-5. The Cougars would have a slight edge at 8-7, as the teams switched sides. Luebbers would add another kill to tie it at 8-8. The Barons would then go on a 4-1 run to take a commanding lead at 12-9. The Barons would maintain that three point lead at 14-11, but then the Cougars would pull to within one at 14-13. Gabrielle Disselkamp would come through in the clutch with a strong kill to the opposite corner to end the match and send the home faithful home happy after the up and down thriller.
Inside the Numbers
- Antonelli led the Barons with a career-high 22 kills. That mark is the 5th most in program history in a five set match.
- Grace Wallace also improved on her career-high, as she had 47 set assists on the night.
- Sara Moore led the team with 34 digs. Antonelli added 21 to give her a 20 and 20 double double for the first time in her career.
- Chatham had more kills then Franciscan with 62 on the night while swinging at at .181%.
Who's Next?
Franciscan will remain at home to host Allegheny on Thursday evening at STEUBENVILLE CATHOLIC CENTRAL HIGH SCHOOL. This will be the first time that these two schools have played each other since 2014, as the Gators have won two of their three all-time matchups. Franciscan's lone win came in 2012, as Anna Cain had 16 kills and Dani Link added 10 in a five set thriller.
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