Women’s Volleyball falls in four to Franciscan

STEUBENVILLE, Ohio --- Carlow University women's volleyball lost a 3-1 contest to Franciscan University on the road Thursday night.

The Celtics (3-8) lost the first two sets to the Barons (3-5) before winning the third. Franciscan won the match with a 25-23 fourth set.

Rebecca Hess (Greensburg, Pa./Greensburg Central Catholic) led Carlow with a game-high 17 kills. Hess and Kelsey Sufak (Allison Park, Pa./Deer Lakes HS) both recorded 17 digs apiece, and Emily Hess (Saltsburg, Pa./River Valley HS) contributed a double-double 18 assists and 10 digs.

Suzy Walker (Boswell, Pa./North Star HS) added 12 kills, while Paige Keller (Liberty Borough, Pa./South Allegheny HS) and Jurisa Shirky (Canterbury, UK/The Mount Academy) each tallied four block assists on the night.

The teams traded leads throughout the first set before a 6-1 run put the Barons ahead, 17-13. Carlow battled back to trail by one point several times, but a kill and a service ace ended the game 25-22 in favor of Franciscan.

The Celtics maintained a marginal lead through the beginning of the second set, with both teams tying the score several times. At 15-all, the Barons scored four unanswered points to gain the advantage. Back-to-back kills by Rebecca Hess saw Carlow down 24-23, but the home team won the second set 25-23 with a kill from Sarah Clyde.

The Celtics jumped out to a 6-2 lead in the third set and went on a 9-3 run to lead, 15-8. A 7-1 run by Barons had them trailing by one, but two errors and back-to-back kills from Walker won Carlow the set, 25-19.

Franciscan led for most of the fourth set until an attack error set off a 9-2 that saw the Celtics down, 18-17. A Barons service error and two kills from Rebecca Hess tied the game at 20-all. Each team scored a point before a kill from Jorja Sedlar (Brentwood, Pa./PA Leadership Charter School) and a service ace by Sufak gave Carlow its first lead of the set, 23-22. Franciscan shut the door on the comeback with three kills in a row to win 25-23.

Logan Hickey had a double-double 16 kills and 13 digs, and Kaitlan Hickey recorded a game-high 18 digs.

The Celtics open Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference action with a 1 p.m. match against crosstown foe La Roche Sept. 20.