Franciscan University Barons Athletics

Franciscan women's volleyball went 2-for-2 in the tri-matches Saturday afternoon, defeating both Salem and La Roche Universities by a score of 3-0. With the wins, the Barons are now 4-3 on the season.

How It Happened (vs Salem, W, 3-0)
Just like Wednesday, the Barons started strong, jumping out to a 7-2 lead. During that span, Carolina Linklater, Logan Hickey, and Reese Anderson recorded kills. The Barons would again score seven of the next nine points to take a ten-point lead, followed by some back-and-forth action. Salem went on an 8-2 run to trim the lead to 22-17, but three consecutive points sealed the set win for the hosts.

Set two included the Barons facing its first deficit, trailing 9-8 before scoring the next nine to go up 17-9. In that span, kills by Meg Smart and Anna Guard helped fuel the run. From there, Salem could not get within less than seven, and Franciscan scored the final two points to win 25-16.

The Tigers put the hosts in a big hole early in set three, with the Barons trailing 9-3. Two kills by Guard closed the deficit to 10-9, followed by a 6-2 run to put the Barons up 14-13. Salem had Franciscan trailing three more times after this, yet the hosts kept coming back and scored the last four points following a 21-all tie to complete the sweep. 

Inside the Numbers 
- Hickey and Guard led the Barons in kills with 10 each.
- Linklater led the team in attacking percentage (.375).
- Digs were 81-62, in favor of the Barons.

How It Happened (vs La Roche, W, 3-0)
After the Salem win, the Barons spectated the second match, watching La Roche competing against Salem. Following that, the Barons took back to the court, splitting the first 16 points with the Redhawks before going on a 6-0 run. In that run, Guard recorded multiple kills. The Redhawks got within two, however, the Barons shut the down with a kill by Tessa Miller to win 25-22. 

In set two, Franciscan scored seven of the first nine, including kills by Miller and Logan Hickey. La Roche got it to 9-8, before the Barons scored nine of the next 10 points, featuring multiple kills by Logan Hickey. The Redhawks could not close the gap, and the Barons took the set by a score of 25-13. 

Trailing 5-3 in set three, the Barons then recorded the next 11 points, with kills by Guard and Logan Hickey. The Barons grew the lead to more than ten, before La Roche made it 22-12. That was the last point for the Redhawks, as Franciscan won the last three points to complete the sweep. 

Inside the Numbers 
- Kills were 31-23 in favor of Franciscan.
- Assists were split 22-21, with the Barons recording one more.
- Reese Anderson led the team in set assists with 12.

Up Next
Franciscan women's volleyball will travel to Pitt Greensburg to commence a five-match road trip. The match will be played Tuesday at 6 PM. 

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