FROSTBURG, Md. – Despite claiming the first set of the afternoon and tying the match at two, the Frostburg State volleyball dropped a five-set match to Capital Athletic Conference (CAC) foe Salisbury on Saturday afternoon at Bobcat Arena.
 
The Bobcats (12-7, 1-1) fell to the Sea Gulls (12-6, 1-1) in set scores of 25-22, 23-25, 23-25, 31-29 and 14-16.
 
Sophomore outside hitter Biamba Tshitenge paced the offensive attack with 13 kills, hitting .279 with one service ace and four digs. Senior middle hitter Zoe Harris also entered double digits with 12 kills, while sophomore middle hitter Ashante Corey-Bey smacked nine.
 
Senior Madelyn Torres assisted on 35 of Frostburg's 54 kills. Senior Lindsey Scepura also registered an assist on the afternoon and added a team-high 21 digs.
 
Nicole Venturelli led the way for the Sea Gulls with 31 kills, while Alexis Howatt dished out 29 assists.
 
Frostburg and Salisbury went back-and-forth throughout the afternoon. The Bobcats rallied from a 6-1 deficit in the first set to eventually tie things at 10. Neither team was able to establish any sort of advantage until Frostburg scored four of the final six points for a 25-22 win. Harris collected a pair of kills and sophomore defensive specialist Cori Smothers notched a service ace in the Bobcats final scoring surge.
 
Salisbury opened the second set with a 5-0 outburst and eventually took a 13-4 lead. Frostburg would climb back into the set, tying the score at 18 before going up 20-18.
 
With the match tied at one set apiece, Frostburg grabbed a 12-8 lead in the third set. Smothers smacked two service aces while Harris, Corey-Bey and Tshitnege added kills for the Bobcats in the early portions of the set. Trailing 24-19, Frostburg cut the Sea Gulls lead to 24-23 before the visitors scored the set point to take a 2-1 lead.
 
In what was perhaps the most exciting set of the 2017 season, Frostburg survived three match points and outlasted the Sea Gulls for a 31-29 victory to tie the match at two. A kill from Torres brought the Bobcats to within one at 8-7 and an ace from Grimes gave Frostburg a 20-19 lead. Corey-Bey smacked a kill to give the Bobcats a 29-28 cushion and went on to take the set.
 
Salisbury opened the match-deciding set with an 8-3 edge before Frostburg used a kill from senior Naya Cheatem to tie the score at 12. Thsitenge's kill tied the set at 13 but Salisbury went on to score the final three points of the afternoon.
 
 
Frostburg returns to Bobcat Arena on Thursday, October 5 for a non-conference matchup with Penn State Altoona at 7:00 p.m.
 
For up-to-date game information, including live stats and video streaming, visit frostburgsports.com.