Franciscan 3, Penn State Beaver 0

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

How It Happened 
Franciscan Women's Volleyball hosted Penn State Beaver for their long-awaited home opener of the 2024 season. The Barons would not disappoint the home faithful, as they would down the Lions in three sets to extend their win streak to five straight and improve their record to 5-2. Their start is identical to how they started the 2022 season, but the Barons hope this is just the beginning of another successful season.

In the opening set, Meghan Hickey would serve for seven straight points with three of those points coming from Mary Jean Cadman kills. The Barons would have a 6-0 run then to take a commanding lead of 16-4. Gabrielle Disselkamp would add a pair of aces down the stretch as the Barons scored seven straight to take the first set by a score of 25-10.

Cadman would continue her dominance in the second set. She added six more kills this set to lead the offensive attack. Clare Karr, Tessa Miller, and Mary Smart each added their first kills of the night, as the Barons would take the second set by the same score as the first set.

Coach Jen Hickey would get several more players into this match in the third set. 18 players in total would see the floor for Franciscan tonight. Mary Updike served for nine straight points with an ace of her own. Mikayla Doan and Madison Doan would each pick up their first kill of the night, as the Barons closed out the Lions in three sets. 

Inside the Numbers 
- Cadman had a career best .667 attack percentage, the third best by a Baron in a game in program history. 
- Franciscan's .378 attack percentage is the third best team performance in program history.
- Sara Moore led the Barons with three service aces.
- Grace Wallace, Mary Smart, Molly Quinn, and Julia Brandwein all played setter for the Barons tonight.

Up Next
Franciscan will have some time off, as they do not return to action until September 21st at Kenyon. There they will compete in a tri-match with Pitt.-Greensburg making the trip to Gambier, Ohio as well. This will be their second matchup against the Bobcats, who they beat in four sets on September 7th. They are 1-1 all-time against the Owls. The last time they played was in 2022, and the Barons won in four sets at the Marietta Tournament. In that win, Gabrielle Disselkamp had 14 kills, and Elizabeth Luebbers added 13 kills to lead the Barons. 

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