FROSTBURG, Md. – Head coach Becky Fletcher is entering her ninth season at the helm of the Frostburg State volleyball team and her squad is welcoming back 12 members (80%) of last season's roster as the Bobcats enter their first season of Division II action.
 
A closer look at the '19 roster reveals that Fletcher and her staff welcome back their top three players in kills, the team's leader in blocks and FSU's top player in service aces and digs.
 
"I think that having our first contact of the ball be so consistent and so reliable from the last three years is something that's going to make the transition a bit smoother for us," said Fletcher. "The ball might be coming a little bit faster or a little bit harder, but I think that our DS's especially will transition easily to the speed of the game."
 
With that kind of momentum returning to the court, Frostburg appears to be in a place to make a move up the Mountain East Conference standings, despite the toughness of the league and shift to stronger competition.
 
"We have four seniors who have a lot of experience," added Fletcher. "They all have the ability to contribute a lot of leadership to our court. I think that experience and the consistency they bring and how they've been the last few years is something that's exciting."
A year ago, the Bobcats finished with an 11-23 record and secured the six-seed in the Capital Athletic Conference (CAC) Tournament. FSU led the conference in digs per set (17.88) and total attacks (4,458) last season, while ranking sixth in both kills (1,200) and assists (1,100).
 
Two years ago, Frostburg hosted the ECAC Tournament and finished the season with a 16-12 overall record.
 
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The middle and the defense will be led by seniors Biamba Tshitenge, Cori Smothers, Bailey Godlove and Kathryn Lough, who will provide the production and leadership needed for a program entering its first season in Division II.
 
Last season, Tshitenge was named to the All-CAC Second Team, after placing tied for second in the conference with 359.0 points and fifth in the league with 288 kills and a 2.74 kills per set mark, all of which were personal career highs.
 
Smothers, the libero of the team, is also coming off of a stellar junior campaign that saw her collect a conference-leading 600 digs, as she became just the fourth Bobcat to reach the 600-digs plateau in program history.
 
Godlove collected 202 kills in her first season with the Bobcats, while Lough tallied 235 digs.
 
Hitter Haley Altemus (sophomore) put together a very impressive first-year campaign last season, ranking seventh in the CAC in kills (278) and eighth in digs (395).
 
The Bobcats are also bringing back junior Rachel Snead to compliment Altemus and Godlove in the pins, while sophomores Tyler Lott, Danielle Gansert, Delanie Day, Hannah Jones, Alyssa Barkdoll and Raven Pratt will also look to build off their first season in collegiate volleyball.
 
Snead posted 109 kills and 53 digs last fall, while Barkdoll contributed 53 kills and 27 digs despite battling injuries throughout the season.
 
Fletcher and her staff were also quick to point out that her newcomers have already begun to push the upperclassmen.
 
"Our newcomers have, since the first moment we walked in the gym, set the bar extremely high for our returners," noted Fletcher. "They are strong, they are smart on the volleyball court, they bring some speed and some intensity to our game that we needed. They're from all over the U.S., so they bring just a little bit different style of play to our gym. It's been fun kind of getting those pieces to gel and it has come very quickly. The chemistry in the gym is electric."
 
Schedule
The top eight teams make it to the Mountain East Conference (MEC) Championship Tournament at the end of the season, and everybody is chasing last year's winner and 13th-ranked Wheeling, which played its way to the NCAA Division II Quarterfinals last fall.
 
The Bobcats will play the defending MEC champs twice this year, with the first matchup occurring on October 5 at Bobcat Arena.
 
In total, the Bobcats' schedule features 28 matches, 11 of which are at home, including the Frostburg State Quad Match that will occur September 13 and 14.
 
FSU will play its first match of the season on September 6, when it welcomes Lincoln (Pa.) to Bobcat Arena. The first serve is scheduled for 6:00 pm.