FROSTBURG, Md.- Frostburg State Volleyball earned their first win of the season and head coach Kylie Heyne's first victory leading the program as part of the Frostburg State Tri-Match. They defeated Lock Haven in a thrilling 3-2 win before playing well but losing out to Pitt-Johnstown 3-1.
 
In the first match, both teams went back and forth, with neither side leading by more than two points until Frostburg went up 15-12. Junior Jackie Sterenberg and sophomore Beverly Braun led the way, as redshirt-sophomore Hayley Delor and junior Edwyna Lainez provided the assists. LHU would come back to tie the score at 18-18, but FSU would go on a 7-3 run to close out the set, with freshman AJ Thompson getting a couple timely kills and Sterenberg putting the set away to give Frostburg the 1-0 lead in the match.
 
The Bobcats would start the second set well, as sophomore Laken Michael earned a couple kills, then some Bald Eagle errors put FSU up 10-6. LHU would come back strong, taking an 18-14 lead with Gabriela Fialova earning three straight kills in the swing. Frostburg wouldn't get closer than three points the rest of the way, as Lock Haven took the second set 25-19 and evening the match.
 
The teams again went back and forth to start the third set, with FSU eventually taking a 12-9 lead as both teams made attacking errors. Frostburg would take the lead to 13-11 before a 12-2 run from LHU would put them up 23-15. Braun scored three straight points to get FSU back within three points, but Grace Hugar scored back-to-back kills to put the set away and give LHU a 2-1 lead in the match.
 
In the fourth set, Frostburg would get out to a 13-9 lead, with Braun and Thompson getting multiple kills. Lock Haven would come back and eventually take a 23-19 lead, then the teams traded points to make it 24-20 and three set points for the Bald Eagles. Frostburg stormed back to tie it 24-24 on a kill from Braun, taking the set into extra points. The teams went back and forth for two points apiece before a Bald Eagle error and an ace from Braun took the match to a deciding fifth set.
 
In the final frame, FSU took an early 8-4 lead with kills from Sterenberg, Thompson, and sophomore Sydney Hammond. LHU came back to tie the set at 9-9 as the teams again traded points down the stretch. With the game tied 14-14, Thompson scored a huge kill and an ace from Braun ended the match 16-14 in favor of the Bobcats, their first win of the season.
 
Braun led FSU with 17 kills in the match, with Sterenberg (13) and Thompson (10) both joining her with double-digit kills. Braun also tied for the team lead in digs with 15 alongside junior libero McKenna Houser, with Delor not far behind with 14. Delor also led the way in assists with 28, while Lainez dished out 17 assists. Frostburg improved to 1-8 with the win, while LHU fell to 2-7.
 
The second match of the day saw the Bobcats matched up with Pitt-Johnstown, after the Mountain Cats had also defeated LHU on the day 3-0.
 
In set one, both sides initially went back and forth with the score knotted at 9-9 before UPJ went on a 9-3 run to go up 18-12 with some aces by Molly Ayres. FSU would get back within two at 18-20, with Delor and Sterenberg getting kills, but UPJ would prove too strong to overcome, winning the set 25-19.
 
Frostburg would start out well in the second set, going up 9-4 with Braun, Delor, and sophomore McKaily Thompson-Moran all adding kills. Frostburg would continue the pressure, staying in the lead and going up 17-13 on another kill from Braun. UPJ would not go quietly, as they came back to tie the match 19-19 after some Frostburg errors. The teams would go back and forth all the way to 25-25, but a kill from Grace Miller and an error from Braun gave the Mountain Cats a 2-0 set lead in the match.
 
FSU again would start the third set well, taking a 10-5 lead with Thompson-Moran, Thompson, and Braun again all adding kills. The Bobcats pushed the lead to 19-13 with Braun, Sterenberg, and Michael all feeding from Delor's assists. Again, UPJ would not go down quietly, coming back to tie the game 19-19. Both sides went back and forth to 23-23, as Braun and Sterenberg put kills away to take the set in favor of FSU.
 
UPJ came out hungry in the fourth set, racing out to an 8-1 lead with solid play from Lauren Gechter. Frostburg would chip away at the lead, getting the score back to 13-10 on an ace from junior Bianca Smalls, but five straight Mountain Cat points put them back up 18-10. FSU would keep fighting, clawing all the way back to within one point at 23-22, but UPJ would put the set and the match away with two straight points to win 3-1.
 
Braun led the Bobcats with 16 kills and 20 digs, Delor had 34 assists and 13 digs, and freshman Fiona Gonzalez Medina added 15 digs for Frostburg.
 
The loss put Frostburg at 1-9 on the season, while Pitt-Johnstown moved to 7-1. The Bobcats will be back in action next Saturday, September 25 in Kutztown, Pa., as they face Bowie State at 2 p.m. and Kutztown at 4 p.m. For information and updates stay tuned at frostburgsports.com.