Franciscan 3, Grove City 2

Franciscan Starters 
Mary Jean Cadman, Sarah Clyde, Tessa Miller, Logan Hickey, Mary Smart, Angela Sweeney, and libero - Kaitlan Hickey 

How It Happened 
Franciscan hosted Grove City in a pivotal PAC matchup with both teams trying to secure a playoff spot and climb the standings. The Barons were able to do so in an epic, five-set thriller for their first win over Grove City in Steubenville in program history. 

The Barons dominated the opening set from the start, but the Wolverines would claw their way back into it. The Barons led 15-13 behind a balanced offensive attack and a handful of service errors from Grove City. The Wolverines finally were able to tie it up at 23-23, but then back-to-back points, including a kill from Sweeney that gave the Barons the opening set.

Grove City held their first lead of the day at 2-1 in the second set, and they proceeded to control this set. They led 15-10 and held on down the stretch to take the set. The Barons attacks held a .294 mark, but the Wolverines had an attack percentage of .375 in the second set to secure victory.

Logan Hickey had 10 kills through two sets but was able to go up another gear in the third. She added eight kills, and Cadman added six to account for 14 of the Barons' 15 kills in the third set. With the score tied at 20-20, Cadman had one kill, and Hickey added four in a row to take the third set by a score of 25-23.

The score was tied three times in the early going of the fourth set, but it was all Grove City. Logan Hickey added seven more kills in the set, but the Wolverines won by seven, 25-18, to send us to a fifth set for the fourth time in 2025.

It felt like the Barons had lost the momentum, but they were not phased. They came out with a 2-0 run to take the lead and all the momentum back in this one. They led 8-4 at the switch and were able to take the wind out of their sails. Hickey added four kills in this set with three of those coming down the final stretch to win 15-13. 

With a win, the Barons clinched a spot in the PAC Championship Tournament for the first time since the 2020-21 season. They are in third place with two games left in the regular season. 

Inside the Numbers 
- Logan Hickey set another program record with 29 kills, the most by a Baron in a five-set match. Her 33.0 points are the most by a Baron in a match all-time.
- Hickey also became the first Baron to ever achieve 400+ kills in a season, and the first player in the PAC to eclipse that mark this season.
- 50 set assists by Mary Smart were a new career-high for the setter.
- Kaitlan Hickey had 28 digs. Logan added 19 for another big double double. 
- Saint Vincent won the blocking battle 16-8.

Up Next
Franciscan returns to action at Washington & Jefferson on Tuesday evening. These two teams met in Steubenville earlier this season, with the Presidents winning in four sets. Each set was very close, but Fetsko and Dagen led the Barons with 17 and 16 kills in part of a 59-kill effort for the opposition. The Presidents sit in second in the PAC North, as they look to clinch a playoff spot on Saturday evening at Geneva.

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