Franciscan 3, Bethany 1

Franciscan Starters 
Elizabeth Luebbers, Grace Wallace, Sarah Clyde, Kaitlan Hickey, Tessa Miller, Ava King & libero - Sara Moore  

How It Happened 
Franciscan Women's Volleyball got back after it bright and early on Saturday morning with a 10:00 a.m. start time against Bethany in Latrobe, Pennsylvania. It would be worth the early wake-up, as the Barons picked up their first win of the season in four sets over the Bison.

Grace Wallace and Sarah Clyde each had one kill in the early going of set one, but then Bethany made their move to be the first to fifteen at 15-8. Tessa Miller and Ava King would each add a pair of kills later in the set to get their days going, but the Bison would take the opening set 25-17.

Ava King would get things going for the Barons in set two. After a kill and ace, the Barons had an early 3-1 edge and would not relinquish the lead. The Bison would pull within one point at 9-8, but then the Barons would go on a 5-0 run, including a Sara Moore ace. Every time the Bison would threaten, the Barons would get a timely kill from a different player. Franciscan would take the set 25-21.

King got the Barons started once again in the third set with a kill and an ace, but from there, the Bison would take charge of this set. Bethany had the lead at 13-11, but then Franciscan would take over with a 7-1 run. In that run, Sarah Clyde had one kill and two aces to spark the Barons in this set. King had a pair of kills down the stretch to close out this set and fend off the Bison who made a late 5-0 run, but it would be too little too late, Barons 25, Bison 22.

It was all Barons to start the fourth set, as King and Cadman each picked up two points to help the Barons hold a 7-3 lead. Bethany would rally hard to tie this set up at eight and again at 15, but the Barons would not let them take the lead. Tessa Miller and Ava King each added a pair of kills down the stretch to propel the Barons to a 25-20 set win and their first win of the season.

Inside the Numbers 
- Ava King filled up the score sheet with 20 points (17 kills and 3 aces) and 25 digs.
- Mary Smart had 22 set assists.
- Sarah Clyde had a season-high 11 points, including six kills.
 

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Franciscan 3, Saint Vincent 2

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

How It Happened 
Franciscan Women's Volleyball concluded their bust weekend of four games with a non-conference match against Saint Vincent. The Barons would make the most of their Saturday, as they took down the hosts in five sets.

Mary Jean Cadman led the way in the beginning of set one with two kills, as the score would be knotted up at 5-5. Unfortunately, the Bearcats would take charge of this set from there, as a 5-0 run gave them a controllable lead. The Barons would cut the deficit to three at 22-19 after a Kaitlan Hickey kill, but the Bearcats would be able to close out the opening set by a score of 25-20. 

A back and forth start to set two led to a 7-7 score, but the Barons would once again show their resiliency and make a push. A Franciscan 6-0 run with a kill from Tessa Miller and Ava King would force Saint Vincent to call a timeout and reset. The hosts would not be able to regroup as Franciscan would get offensive production from all areas of the floor to take a commanding 25-16 win in this set.

Franciscan would continue their impressive play in set four. Mary Jean Cadman would lead the way with seven kills in this set alone. Elizabeth Luebbers had five kills and Ava King had four in this set, as Franciscan combined to have 19 kills in the fourth set. They would take the set by a score of 25-17.

Set four would start with four straight points from Saint Vincent. The Barons would claw their way back into this set and tie it up at 8-8. They would not be able to take the lead this set as the Bearcats would take control. The Barons would pull within one at 20-19, but Saint Vincent would close the set out on a 5-2 run and force a fifth set.

In their second fifth set match of the weekend, Coach Jen Hickey would rally the Barons up for their final set and a chance to go 2-2 on the weekend. Ava King led off with a kill, then an ace, and the Barons had the momentum. They stretched that lead to 5-0 and had total control of the fifth set. Mary Jean Cadman added three kills to stretch the lead to 10-4, and then the Barons would close out the Bearcats 15-6 to earn their second win of the day.

Upon the completion of the Bearcat Challenge, Mary Jean Cadman was named to the All-Tournament Team.

Inside the Numbers 
- Ava King improved upon her performance from game one with 21.0 points in this game.
- Mary Jean Cadman led the Barons with 18 kills while hitting .310.
- Sarah Clyde had three solo blocks.
- King led the Barons with 29, a new season high.
- Grace Wallace had 22 set assists. 

Up Next
Franciscan will have to wait a week for their next match, as they travel back to Westmoreland County to take in Pitt.-Greensburg. This will be their first of two meetings with the Bobcats this season. The Barons are 11-3 all-time against them with wins in their last four matches. The last time that these two teams played was in Greeensburg, and Franciscan was able to come home with the straight sets win.

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