Franciscan 3, Bethany 2

Franciscan Starters 
Ava King, Grace Wallace, Mary Jean Cadman, Madison Doan, Gabrielle Disselkamp, Tessa Miller & libero - Sara Moore 

How It Happened 
Franciscan honored their seniors before the match in front of a large home crowd at Finnegan Fieldhouse. The Barons did not disappoint, as they delivered an electric five-set victory to move to 2-3 in PAC play this season.

Bethany took early control of the opening set, but the Barons took the lead back at 12-11. The Bison answered with a 5-0 run to retake the lead. Franciscan cut it to one at 16-15, but the Bison held the lead the rest of the way. A 6-0 run took this one out of reach, and the Bison would win 25-17. 

Bethany had all the momentum, and they jumped out to a 10-4 edge in the second set. The Barons would not flinch, as they would go on a historic 11-0 run on Sara Moore's serve. Gabrielle Disselkamp was the go-to player during the run with five kills just in that stretch. Fittingly, Disselkmap added two more kills down the stretch, including one for the 25th point to tie it up at 1-1.

It felt like it was Franciscan's match, as the crowd grew louder and louder, but the Bison answered quickly. In the third set, they raced out to a 16-7 edge. Angela Sweeney and Mary Jean Cadman would add a couple of kills, but the Bison would take a commanding set by a score of 25-15.

The Barons would not let the 2-1 deficit affect them. Instead, they rose to the occasion. Cadman had three kills in the early going to help the Barons take a 9-4 edge. Later on, the Barons went on a 6-0 run, including a pair of aces from Kaitlan Hickey to grow the lead up to 15-7. Angela Sweeney would then go on a personal 4-0 run with four straight kills, as she was putting together a career-day. Cadman closed it out with a kill to force a fifth set.

Franciscan jumped all over the Bison to start the fifth. Cadman and Sweeney each had three kills in an impressive offensive start to the set to take a 9-2 edge. Bethany pulled to within four at 9-5, but the Barons did not let them get any closer. A 5-1 run closed out the match, including a pair of kills from Clare Karr in the middle. 

The bench stormed the court, as they celebrated their third five-set win of the season and put the exclamation point on a wonderful Senior Day. 
 
Inside the Numbers 
- Sweeney led the Barons with a career-high 18 kills.
- Cadman had 17 kills, one shy of her season-high.
- Sara Moore led all players with 46 digs, a new career-high as she eclipsed 1,700 digs. 
- Grace Wallace had a season-high 33 set assists.

Up Next
Franciscan continues their stretch of five straight home games on Tuesday when Geneva comes to town. The Barons fell in four sets to the Golden Tornadoes earlier this season. They are in search of their first win all-time against them, as this will be a pivotal matchup for both teams. 

Stay Connected 
Be sure to follow Franciscan Athletics on YouTube, Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook for the most in-depth coverage.