Washington & Jefferson 3, Franciscan 2

Franciscan Starters 
Renee Antonelli, Gracie Francis, Elizabeth Libel, Rani Hebert, Madison Kozares, Gabrielle Disselkamp & libero - Sara Moore  

Washington & Jefferson Starters 
Saureland, Fetsko, Barrie, Carmichael, McFarland, Sacramento

How It Happened 
The Franciscan Women's Volleyball team opened up the 2022 season with a loss in five sets against Washington & Jefferson on Friday night in Marietta, Ohio. This matchup is the first of three against the Presidents with the first two being non-conference contests and the last one counting towards conference standings.

Franciscan would jump out to a 2-0 lead in set one, as Gracie Francis would earn the first kill of the year for the Barons. With the score set at 3-3, the Presidents would take charge of this set, as they went on a 5-0 run to take a 8-3 edge. The Barons would pull to within two at 16-14 with Elizabeth Luebbers and Rani Hebert each picking up a couple kills in the first set. The Presidents would go on to close out the set 25-20.

The Presidents jumped out to an early 3-0 lead in set two, but the Barons would tie it up at three apiece thanks to a pair of kills from Luebbers. Franciscan would go on to take a lead of 10-8, as Hebert would get going with a couple of kills once more. Franciscan was the first team to fifteen points, but then the Presidents would have a crucial 5-1 run. With the score going the wrong way at 23-20, Gracie Francis and Renee Antonelli each had a kill to bring the Barons to within one, but then the Presidents would close out the second set with two straight points.

Head Coach Jordan Barton would rally the Barons, as they would not quit on this match. Franciscan would jump out to an early 11-7 lead in set three, as it was a total team effort to stay in this match. Franciscan had the lead the entire set, until a 4-0 run would give the Presidents a 21-20 edge. A Presidents service error would tie it up, but then they would grab the next two points to put Franciscan two points away from being swept. A 4-0 run, including a Grace Wallace ace gave Franciscan to close out the third set.

It felt like Franciscan had all the momentum, but the Presidents would jump out to a 4-0 lead to start the fourth. There lead would grow to five points at 9-4 before Franciscan would respond. Franciscan would take their first lead, as a 5-0 run would set the score at 15-12. On that run, Gabrielle Disselkamp had three aces. Another 5-0 run on Renee Antonelli's serve would nearly close out this set, as the Barons would go on to win the fourth by a score of 25-18.

Washington & Jefferson came out strong once again, as they led 6-2 in the final set. Antonelli picked up a pair of kills to spark some life back into the Barons, as they would pull to within one at 8-7. The Barons would take their first lead of the set, as a 4-0 run would give them a 11-10 lead. The Presidents offense would prove to be too much, as a 5-1 run, including four kills would give them them the match.
 

Inside the Numbers 
- Rani Hebert led the way with 11 kills for Franciscan.
- Freshman Faith Fetsko led all players with 25 kills in her collegiate debut.
- Renee Antonelli had a double double with 10 kills and 16 digs.
- Sara Moore led Franciscan with 27 digs.
- Grace Wallace led Franciscan setters with 23 set assists while adding 11 digs.

Who's Next? 
Franciscan play back to back games on Saturday. They first play, host, Marietta College at 10:00 a.m. followed up with a contest against Kenyon College. Franciscan is 2-9 all-time against Marietta, as they have lost six straight to the Pioneers. This will be their second matchup ever against Kenyon with the only other matchup coming back in 2018.

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