DANVILLE, Va. – The Frostburg State volleyball team split a pair of matches on the first day of the Averett Tournament in Danville, Va., Saturday afternoon. The Bobcats downed William Peace, 3-1, in the first match before falling, 3-0, to Averett in the second.

Juniors Naya Cheatem and Chelsea Parinello led the way on offense for the Bobcats. Cheatem ended the day with 27 kills, while Parinello had 16 of her own. Junior Madelyn Torres posted 53 assists for FSU while junior Lindsey Scepura ended the day with 34 total digs.

In the first match, William Peace took set one, 25-19, before the Bobcats won three consecutive sets, 25-20, 25-20, and 25-16 to win the game in four.

William Peace jumped out to an early lead in game one, leading by six points, 7-1, before FSU gained some momentum and brought the set within one point.  However, the Pacers remained in the lead for the entire set and scored the final two points to win it, 25-19.

The beginning of set two saw five lead changes before FSU's Karli Grimes (junior) earned a service ace that gave the Bobcats a lead they would not relinquish. Kills from Cheatem, freshman Ashante Corey-Bey, Grimes, and a service ace from Torres rounded out the final points of the set for the 25-20 decision.

Set three featured three ties early on, before the Bobcats used a five-point run to surge ahead of the Pacers and hold on to the lead. A kill from junior Jessica Bugtong rounded out the set, 25-20.
In the final set, the Bobcats remained dominant throughout, holding the lead all the way through. They scored seven unanswered points to reach a 25-16 victory and ultimately win the match.

Corey-Bey ended the match with four blocks while Torres tallied four aces.

The Bobcats proved tough throughout game two, but could not overcome the powerful Averett offense and dropped all three sets, 25-23, 28-26 and 25-16 to the Cougars.

In the first set, FSU used a 7-0 run to hold an 11-5 advantage over the Cougars in the start of play. A kill from Parinello kept the Bobcats in the lead; however the Cougars clawed their way back into the set using a five-point run to tie the game at 14. Points were exchanged back-and-forth before Averett scored three unanswered points to pull away slightly. A kill from Cheatem made it a 24-23 game; however the Cougars won the final point of the match.

Averett held the advantage at the start of the second set. However, FSU used a three-point run to tie the set, 16-16. The Cougars started to pull away once again, but the Bobcats would not give up and tied the match again, 24-24. Two more ties occurred before Averett scored the final three points to win, 28-26.

In the final set, Averett took the lead from the start and remained in control for most of the set. A kill from Parinello and an attack error from the Cougars tied the match, 10-10. However, Averett followed scoring four unanswered points and pulled away to win, 25-18.

FSU will resume play on the second day of the Averett tournament tomorrow, September 4^th. They will face Emory & Henry at 10:00 am.