STEUBENVILLE, Ohio – Chatham Women's Volleyball (13-3, 8-1 PAC) came from behind on Tuesday night to secure a 3-1 (27-29, 25-21, 25-19, 25-16) victory at Franciscan (7-10, 3-6).
 
The Barons won seven of the match's first eight points, which led to a first set victory despite the Cougars coming back to take a late 26-25 advantage in the set. Franciscan's Logan Hickey had 10 kills in the opening frame. The Barons then went on a 7-2 run to begin the second set, but Chatham fought hard to avoid going down 2-0, winning the final four points of the set via two Becca Gesner kills.  The Cougars got ahead 5-1 in set three and would hold that advantage for the entire frame. Kills from Gesner, Vanessa Mleczko, and Paige Watson closed out the set and gave Chatham the 2-1 lead. The Cougars would go on a 9-2 run at the beginning of what would be the final set, aided by three more Gesner kills. After the Barons made the score 13-9, three additional kills from Gesner helped Chatham win seven consecutive points. Watson's 11th and 12th kills closed out the second 3-1 comeback victory over Franciscan this season for the Cougars.
 
Gesner tied a career high with 19 kills on .255 hitting. The junior also recorded 3 blocks and tied a career high with 3 service aces for Chatham. Mleczko put up a double-double, finishing the match with a career-high 16 kills on .293 attacking and 10 digs. Watson had 12 kills in the match with a .333 attacking percentage and blocked a match-high 4 Baron attacks. Sierra Ricci tallied a team-high 25 digs, and Delaney Schwind tied a career high with 30 assists.
 
The Cougars held a 67-46 advantage in kills over Franciscan, recording a .251 attacking percentage for the match, their highest in conference play this season. Chatham's 67 kills were its most in a match since Nov. 1, 2022.
 
The Cougars host Hiram on Saturday for a noon match between the PAC's two division leaders at the Athletic and Fitness Center.