FRANCISCAN ELIMINATED FROM NCAA TOURNAMENT

Appearing in its second-consecutive NCAA tournament, the Franciscan University volleyball team lost to Juniata College for the second-straight year in three sets 14-25, 10-25 and 11-25.

Franciscan advanced to the tournament after beating Medaille for the program's second championship, receiving the conference's automatic bid to compete at the national level.

Juniata College received the No. 1 seed and hosting privileges for the regional after finishing the season with a 31-2 record, ranked No. 3 in the nation, so the Lady Barons knew it was going to be an extremely tough match from the start.

For the teams three seniors, the NCAA tournament also marked their last appearance in a Lady Barons uniform. Senior outside hitters Dani Link and Christina Lawrence contributed six total kills in their last game while libero Samantha Kelly finished her career with 13 digs against the Eagles.

Leading the team was freshman outside hitter Maria Ciola with five kills in her first appearance at the national level. Fellow freshman Callahan Hickey finished with five digs and two assists.