BUENA VISTA, Va. – Junior Naya Cheatem smacked 15 kills and classmate Madelyn Torres handed out 24 assists as the Frostburg volleyball team suffered a 3-1 defeat at Southern Virginia, Friday evening.
 
With the loss, the Bobcats settle at 8-12 overall on the season and fall to 0-3 in the Capital Athletic Conference. Southern Virginia improves its record to 4-11 overall and 1-2 in the league.
 
FSU dropped the first two sets 25-12 and 25-11 before rebounding to pull the match to 2-1 with a 25-19 victory. The Knights finished off the evening with a 28-26 win in the fourth game.
 
Junior Zoe Harris added six kills, while junior Jessica Bugtong had five. Freshman Katie Onyundo contributed nine assists as freshman Cori Smothers led the way with 16 digs.
 
The Bobcats and Knights battled to a close set in the opener before Southern Virginia pulled away behind a pair of 6-0 runs. Cheatem smashed two late kills before the hosts scored the final four points for a 25-12 win.
 
Frostburg held two leads in the second set. Freshman Biamba Tshitenge registered a kill off the set of Onyundo as FSU led 9-8. Southern Virginia answered with a 7-0 scoring spurt until a service error ended the run and pulled Frostburg to 15-10. SVU closed out the second game when it scored 10 out of the next 11 points for the 25-11 final.
 
The Bobcats rebounded in the third set, despite trailing 10-5. Frostburg tied the contest at 11-11 with a 6-1 run behind two kills from Bugtong and Tshitenge.
 
FSU later took control of game three with a 6-0 run that gave it a 22-16 advantage. Harris had a kill late in the set to seal the win 25-19.
 
In the fourth and final set, Frostburg once again rebounded for an early set lead when junior Karli Grimes smacked a kill off the set from Onyundo for a 9-8 lead. Bugtong added two more kills and Frostburg pushed its lead to 15-10.
 
Southern Virginia began to slowly pull its way back into the game and used a pair of 3-0 spurts to pull to within one at 19-18. The Knights later collected a 4-0 scoring run for a 22-19 edge.
 
Harris hit one kill and Cheatem registered two more to help Frostburg tie the contest four times late in the set. Freshman Chelsea Parrinello smacked a kill from Torres that tied things for the final time at 24-24. Harris kept Frostburg alive with two kills late in the at 25-24 and again at 26-25 before SVU closed the set with the final two points.
 
The Bobcats return to action tomorrow when they play Washington & Lee at 2:45 pm and Guilford at 5:00 pm.