Bethany 3, Franciscan 1
Franciscan StartersÂ
Renee Antonelli, Gracie Francis, Grace Wallace, Rani Hebert, Elizabeth Luebbers,  Gabrielle Disselkamp & libero - Sara Moore Â
Bethany StartersÂ
Felton, Torres, Burton, Goodnight, Crim, Koehler, & libero - Taylor
How It HappenedÂ
Franciscan Women's Volleyball hosted Bethany on Wednesday night at Steubenville High School for a PAC conference matchup. Unfortunately, the Bison would come out on top to earn their first conference win of the season, but the Barons would give Bison all they could handle in a four set thriller.
Antonelli and Disselkamp would get the first kills of the game for the Barons, as they would be tied up at 5-5 with the Bison through the first ten points. The Bison slowly took a lead, as they were the first to fifteen points at 15-13. A 5-0 run would be the difference in the first set, as that would give the Bison a 22-15 lead that they would not relinquish.Â
Luebbers and Hebert picked up kills in set two to give Franciscan a 4-3 advantage. The Bison would respond once more with a 5-0 run to take an 8-4 edge. The Bison would climb the lead up to 10 points at 18-8. Then Franciscan would answer with a 5-0 run of their own to cut the lead in half. The Bison would hold on to win the second set by a score of 25-18.
Franciscan came out for set three with some energy, as they knew they could get back into this one still. Antonelli and Luebbers had early kills to help Franciscan jump out to a 3-0 lead. The Barons stretched the lead up to five at 8-3 after an ace from Antonelli. Bethany would respond with a 4-0 run to cut the lead to just one. Franciscan kept their composure, as they were able to stretch the lead back up to five at 16-11. Head Coach Jordan Baron switched the rotation a little, as she brought in Elizabeth Libel and Madison Kozares this set which sparked the team and mixed things up. The Barons would hold the lead the rest of the way, but the Bison would make a 3-0 run late to cut the lead to 24-23. Rani Hebert came through with a clutch kill to give Franciscan the third set.
The Bison came out strong in the fourth, as they took a 6-2 lead. The Barons did a great job of chipping into the lead and forcing several Bison errors to stay within reach at a score of 15-13. Then a Bison 5-1 run would set the score at 20-14, but the Barons would not quit. The Barons would go on a late 4-0 run with a pair of Disselkamp aces to cut the score to 24-21. The Bison would finally get that elusive 25th point to win the match.
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Inside the NumbersÂ
- Antonelli led the Barons with 12 kills on the night.
- Moore and Disselkamp each had two aces.
- Sara Moore register her seventh 20+ dig game of the season with 20 tonight against the Bison.
- Wallace had 26 set assists and Libel added six.
Who's Next?Â
Franciscan will head to Washington, Pennsylvania on Saturday for their third matchup of the year against the Presidents. The Barons have not been able to defeat the Presidents yet with a five set loss at Marietta and a three set loss at home. This third and final matchup counts towards PAC standings, hence carrying the most weight of all the matchups. Hopefully Coach Jordan Barton and the Barons can execute a strong game plan to pick up their first conference win of the season.Â
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