SELINSGROVE, Pa. – The Frostburg State volleyball team dropped its first two matches on the first day of the Hampton Inn River Hawks Classic played at Susquehanna University, Friday evening. The Bobcats fell 3-0 in the opening match to Geneva College and dropped 3-0 to Susquehanna in the night cap.
The Bobcats (5-6) fell to the Golden Tornadoes (5-5) in all three sets, 25-12, 25-13, and 25-20. Junior Karli Grimes led FSU in kills (7) while freshman Biamba Tshitenge notched five kills and two block assists. Freshman Katie Onyundo led the team in assists with 17 while junior Lindsey Scepura had 18 digs on defense.
FSU earned the first point of set one but the Golden Tornadoes surged back to score five unanswered points and take a 6-2 lead. A kill from Grimes followed by a service ace from freshman Katie Lough brought the Bobcats within four, 9-5, but it wasn't enough as Geneva's offense continued to power past FSU and take set one, 25-12.
Despite a six-point lead from the Golden Tornadoes to start set two, the Bobcats did not give up and rallied to win the next three points and bring the score to 6-3. Grimes notched a kill in the middle of the set to keep the Bobcats within four, but the Golden Tornadoes used a four point rally to power ahead and win the set, 25-13.
FSU gained an early 3-1 lead in set three, before the Golden Tornadoes used a five-point rally to regain the lead. However, the Bobcats did not surrender and scored four unanswered points, including two kills from Grimes to bring the score within two, 12-10. Geneva held a slight edge over FSU for most of the set but the Bobcats brought the score within one, 18-17, before the Golden Tornadoes were able to pull away and secure the 25-20 victory.
In the night cap, FSU dropped three consecutive sets to Susquehanna (9-2), 25-18, 25-19, and 25-15 to finish day one of tournament action.
Junior Chelsea Parrinello led the offense with eight kills while Tshitenge picked up five. Onyundo finished the night with 22 assists while Lough tallied 11 digs followed by Scepura with nine.
Frostburg jumped out to an early lead in set one, taking a 5-3 advantage over the River Hawks and remained in the lead for much of the set. However, SU scored nine unanswered points to surge ahead of the Bobcats, 15-10. In the end, the River Hawks used a four-point rally to win set one, 25-18.
Set two featured a 6-3 Bobcat lead in the opening points before the River Hawks used an eight-point rally to jump ahead of FSU. The Bobcats tried to comeback; however their efforts fell short as they dropped the second set, 25-19.
The final set of the night featured three ties early on before the River Hawks were able to take control of the set and defeat FSU, 25-15 to earn the victory.
FSU will resume action on day two of the River Hawks Classic tomorrow when they face Nazareth at 11:00 am followed by Geneseo at 1:00 pm.
