FROSTBURG, Md. – On Saturday afternoon, Frostburg took one of two matches against Lebanon Valley and Neumann.
The Bobcats (6-15) earned the win in four sets against Neumann after falling to Lebanon Valley in three sets.
Game One
In game one against LVC, the Bobcats dropped three sets to give the Dutchmen the win.
In set one, the play was fairly even as both teams went back and forth with scoring. The Bobcats were able to keep the set close with kills by juniors Ashante Corey-Bey, Biamba Tshitenge, Bailey Godlove, and first-year Haley Altemus. The Dutchmen started to pull away as they had several errors work in their favor with a final score of 25-19.
Set two mimicked much of the first as the game started with equal scoring opportunities for both sides. This set was much closer with the Bobcats constantly clawing their way back to meet the Dutchmen and bring the score back within a few points. Tshitenge finished set two with both four kills and four blocks.
Set three locked up the Dutchmen victory as Lebanon Valley rattled off seven consecutive points to take a 20-10 lead. Frostburg managed to slow the scoring by responding with kills by Tshitenge and first-year Alyssa Barkdoll. Tshitenge finished set three with another four kills while Altemus finished right behind Tshitenge with three kills. Overall, Tsitenge led the Bobcats with nine kills and six blocks in the match.
Game Two
After falling in the first set, the Bobcats took the next three sets to earn the win against Neumann College in the team's second game of their afternoon.
The Knights took the first frame in a tight 25-19 outcome to take the 1-0 set lead over the Bobcats. The two teams battled early in the set, as the score was tied seven different times, the last tie coming when Altemus smashed a kill to tie the score, 11-11. Neumann then scored five of the next six points to pull away from the Bobcats and take a 16-12 lead.
The Bobcats tried to claw back, scoring three straight points, including two aces from junior Katie Onyundo to close the deficit, 18-17. Neumann scored the next four points to pull ahead for good, 22-17, and that would carry them to the 25-19 set victory.
The second set was again close throughout, as it seemed neither team could pull away from one another. With the score tied, 17-17, the Bobcats scored seven of the next eight points including a 4-0 run, to take a 24-18 lead. The run was highlighted by two kills from Altemus. FSU would go on to win the set, 25-20 to tie the game, 1-1.
The Bobcats jumped out to an 11-5 lead to start the third set, but the Knights stormed back to cut their deficit to just one tally, at 14-13. Frostburg would combat Neumann's stretch with a run of their own, as they scored five-straight points and 10 of the next 12 points to take a commanding 24-15 lead. Corey-Bey earned two kills in the Bobcat stretch. FSU will win the set, 25-16, to take the lead, two sets to one.
The fourth and final set featured six lead changes between the two squads in the 27-25 set victory for the Bobcats. Neither team could start to a run until Frostburg rattled off five out of six points to shrink a 22-18 deficit to one point at 23-22. After a Knights timeout, they took a 24-22 lead and faced a match point. Frostburg would storm back however, as it scored three straight points to take a 25-24 lead. After a Neumann kill from Rachel Hoffman tied the match at 25-25, the Bobcats scored the last two points to take the set, 27-25 and win the game, snapping an 11-game losing streak.
The Bobcats' Onyundo had an incredible 48 assists, with the next leader in that category was Neumann's Alex Koppany with 20. Tshitenge registered a game-high 16 kills, Altemus earned 11 kills and 18 digs, and Libero Cori Smothers led the game with 25 digs to lead FSU.
The Bobcats (6-15) will next take their squad to Rowan to participate in the Rowan Quad next weekend. They kick off the weekend against the host Profs at 7:00 p.m. on Friday.
