Franciscan 3, Geneva 1

Franciscan Starters 
Ava King, Grace Wallace, Mary Jean Cadman, Sarah Clyde, Kaitlan Hickey, Tessa Miller & libero - Sara Moore 

How It Happened 
Franciscan continued their five-game home stand on Tuesday evening, as they hosted Geneva in a PAC match at Finnegan Fieldhouse. The Barons rose to the occasion for this pivotal conference match, as they defeated the Golden Tornadoes for the first time in program history. 

In the opening set, Mary Jean Cadman had a pair of aces to help the Barons take a 4-2 edge. Geneva responded with a run to take the lead and expanded it to 10-5. Another 4-0 run from the visitors stretched the lead to seven at 15-8, but the Barons responded. On Kaitlan Hickey's serve, the Barons scored six straight, including a pair of aces to pull within one. Back-and-forth action continued, as each team maxed out their substitutions. The Barons handled that best, as they closed out the set with a 5-1 run to take the opening set. 

 The Barons carried the momentum into the second set. A 6-0 run on Sara Moore's serve which included three kills from Angela Sweeney gave the Barons a 7-3 edge. The Golden Tornadoes pulled within one point this set but never could retake the lead. With the score at 11-10, the Barons went on a 6-1 run that gave them some breathing room. Julia Brandwein would set the end of the set, as fellow freshman Ava King added a pair of kills to close the set at 25-17.

Geneva held the early lead in the third set, but the Barons battled back to tie it at 10-10. They took the lead on Kaitlan Hickey's serve, as she added two more aces to have a team-high four on the night. The Barons continued to keep it close and held the lead at 19-18, but the Golden Tornadoes would not go down easy. They put together a late 4-0 run to take down the Barons and force a fourth set.

Geneva was the first to 15 points at 15-13, as it felt like this may go to a fifth set. The Barons did not let that happen. They trailed 19-17, but then rallied four consecutive points, including two more kills from Sweeney to take a 21-19 edge. Geneva tied it back up at 22-22, but the Barons rose to the occasion with three straight points, including a kill from Cadman to end it. 

The Barons stormed the court to celebrate, as they climbed up in the conference standings now with a 3-3 mark with four PAC matches to play. 
 
Inside the Numbers 
- Cadman led the way with 15 kills, her 14th double-digit kills game of the season.
- Sara Moore led the Barons with 33 digs.
- Tessa Miller held a .385 attack percentage with five kills.
- This was the Barons' first win against the Golden Tornadoes in their thirteenth attempt since 2014.

Up Next
Franciscan remains at home for a non-conference match on Thursday against Mount Aloysius at 6:00 p.m. The Barons are 11-6 all-time against the Mounties, including wins against them in each of the last two seasons. Lat season, the Barons won in four sets at their place with 12 kills from Rani Hebert. This season, Mount Aloysius is 11-11 with a 3-1 mark in conference matches. 

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