Franciscan 3, Washington & Jefferson 2

Franciscan Starters 
Gracie Francis, Elizabeth Luebbers, Gabrielle Disselkamp,  Grace Wallace, Mary Jean Cadman, Tessa Miller, & libero - Sara Moore 

How It Happened 
Franciscan Women's Volleyball returned home on Saturday after a pair tough road matchups. They needed a win today to stay in the PAC Playoff race, and it would be a tough test with Washington & Jefferson coming to town. The Presidents entered today's matchup with a 6-1 record in PAC play, as they were one win away from clinching a spot in the playoffs. It looked like they were going to find that win, as they dominated the first set. An 8-0 run on Faith Fetsko's serve set the score at 8-1 and had it looking quite bleak. They would be the first to fifteen at 15-7 and close it out 25-15.

Rani Hebert made her return in the lineup for the first time in two weeks to start the second set. She would give them an emotional boost to flip the script on this match. It would be Disselkamp that led the offensive charge to start this set, as she had four kills in route to a 10-4 edge. Hebert and Cadman each picked up a pair, as a balanced offense kept pouring it on to the score of 17-8. Hebert added an ace and the final kill late to take the second set 25-14.

W&J looked to respond in the third set, as action would be back and forth to start. Annelise Davis had three kills early, but the Barons trailed 10-9. After a an error by the Presidents, Mary Jean Cadman served for seven straight points, including three kills in a row from Elizabeth Luebbers. The Barons held onto that seven point edge for most of the remainder of the set  and added one one to win 25-17.

The Presidents would not quit though, as they showed their talents in the fourth. They jumped out to a 15-10 lead. The Barons would cut it to four points at 17-13, but then a 4-0 run would put it nearly out of reach. Annelise Davis would carry the offense with four kills in our final eight points, as we cut it to two points at 24-22 before the Presidents to the set. 

Davis kept up that strong play in the fifth set with three kills in the first five points. The Barons would look to be in total control with their early 5-1 edge. After a pair of President points, it would be Davis once again with a big kill and an ace to follow to regain the momentum. The Presidents would cut it to a three point margin at 11-8, but Hebert would earn a kill to regain the four point advantage. Luebbers would add two kills, including the final point as the bench stormed the floor to celebrate this huge win. 

Inside the Numbers 
- The Barons improve to 3-1 in five-set matches with two of those coming against the Presidents.
- Davis led the way with 15 kills with a .423 attack percentage.
- Wallace had 45 set assists, her 5th 40+ assist match of the season. 
- Moore led the Barons with 22 digs. 
- The Barons had a season-high 59 kills on the day. 

Who's Next? 
Franciscan will make the short trip to Bethany on Wednesday November 1st for their final PAC road matchup of the regular season. This will be a rematch from earlier this season when the Bison beat the Barons in a non-conference matchup. Franciscan is in search of their first win at Bethany since 2019. In that matchup, Meghan Bayer led the way with 17 kills in the four-set victory. 

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