Saint Vincent 3, Franciscan 2

Franciscan Starters 
Renee Antonelli, Gracie Francis, Mary Jean Cadman, Rani Hebert, Grace Wallace, Gabrielle Disselkamp & libero - Sara Moore  

Saint Vincent Starters 
Augustine, Staples, Polk, Fox, Poach, Kocjancic, & libero- Ramos

How It Happened 
Franciscan Women's Volleyball hosted Saint Vincent on Tuesday evening at Indian Creek High School. It was Senior Night for Renee Antonelli, as she was recognized pregame in her hometown. The Barons would then go on to give the #3 seeded Saint Vincent all that they could handle, as a five set thriller gave the home fans quite the watch. 

Both teams came out with their offenses clicking, as they would combine for 34 kills in the first set. Neither team would have more than a two point lead until Franciscan held a 13-10 advatage. Antonelli was showed up early with seven kills in Franciscan's first 18 points. The Barons would hold the lead late in the set, but a couple Bearcat timeouts were promptly followed by service aces to keep the visitors in the opening set. The Bearcats would be serving for the match with a 25-24 lead, but then Franciscan would go on a 3-0 run to close out the first set by a score of 27-25.

The Bearcats made some necessary defensive adjustments in set two. They had two blocks in the opening set, and they would have nine in the second set. That would help the Bearcats take an early 15-10 lead. Franciscan would trail 20-15, but then respond with a 7-1 run to take a late lead. Unfortunately, the Bearcats were able to rally up a 4-0 run to close out the second set.

The Bearcats maintained control as we went into set three with an early 4-2 edge. Franciscan would retake the lead thanks to a 5-0 run with kills from Antonelli, Cadman and Disselkamp. Franciscan would hold onto the lead until Saint Vincent led 15-14. They would not look back, as their offense proved to be too much. They would win the third set 25-20.

Franciscan would score the first two points of set four, but then Saint Vincent would score seven straight points to force Franciscan into an early timeout in the deciding set. Head Coach Jordan Barton rallied the troops to tie it up very quickly at 9-9, thanks to a 5-0 run of their own. Franciscan would finally retake the lead at 16-15. Disselkamp scored four straight points to get Franciscan the lead back, as she continued her career day. Antonelli would then add three kills in a row of her own to get Franciscan at three point lead at 22-19. Disselkamp and Hebert added kills as well to close out the fourth set and send us to a fifth set in the final home match of the season. 

In the deciding set, it would be all tied up at 5-5, as Franciscan was led by two Cadman kills. Saint Vincent then would go on a 5-1 run to take a commanding lead in the set to 15 points. A Franciscan 3-0 run would tighten it up, but then the Bearcats would score five unanswered to win their third set of the day.

Inside the Numbers 
- Franciscan had 64 kills on the night, the fourth most ever in a game in program history.
- Reigning PAC Rookie of the Week, Gabrielle Disselkamp, set a new career high with 24 kills to lead the Barons.
- Grace Wallace set a new career high with 52 set assists, tying the program record for most in a game. 
- Sara Moore set a new career-high with 41 digs, including many in crucial long rallies when the Barons needed them the most.
- Meghan Hickey had a team-high two aces.

Who's Next? -
Franciscan will conclude their season with a pair of road games this week. The first will be at Geneva on Thursday night. The Barons are in search of their first win all-time against the Golden Tornadoes, as they have won all previous nine matchups since 2014. They played each other twice last season with each of those matchup going to the fourth set. Geneva is having a down season though, as they hold a below .500 record. Both teams have been eliminated from playoff contention, but the Barons still hope to finish out the season strong with a couple more wins.

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