INDIANA, Pa. – Frostburg State lost both games on second day of the IUP Invitational. FSU opened the day against Tusculum (26-24, 25-23, 25-21) and finished the day by playing the host IUP (25-22, 26-24, 25-17).
The Bobcats opened the first set against the Pioneers by winning five straight points. Junior Jackie Sterenberg had two kills in the fast start. The Pioneers evened things back up and traded points and leads with the Bobcats for the rest of the set. With FSU down 18-19 sophomore Beverly Braun tied things up with a kill. Sophomore McKaily Thomson-Moran tied the set for the Bobcats at 24-24 before Tusculum won the final two points to take the set.
The second set had the Pioneers out to the big lead. The Bobcats were down by five points until a service run from junior McKenna Houser pulled them within one point at 17-16. Frostburg would later take the lead on a service ace from Braun going up 20-19. The Pioneers rallied to win the second game 25-23.
The third set was tightly contested from start to finish. An ace from sophomore Bianca Smalls gave FSU and early lead 4-2. A kill from Braun tied the set at 16-16. The fish to the third set remain close with Frostburg falling 25-21.
In the second match of the day the Bobcats faced the host school IUP. The first set went back and forth relatively evenly throughout. Braun had a kill mid set to even the score at 16s. Sterenberg had a nice kill late in the set to give FSU the 22-21 lead before IUP was able to finish out the set.
The Bobcats got things started in the second set with a point from freshman AJ Thompson. The largest lead of the set never went over three points. The Bobcats had a nice run of four points highlighted by Sterenberg getting a kill and making the game 15-13 Crimson Hawks. IUP had two errors at the end of the set to make the score even before back-to-back kills gave them the game.
Redshirt sophomore setter Hayley Delor was named to the all-tournament team after racking up a whopping 80 assists throughout the tournament, her first matches with the Bobcats after transferring from Marshall University.
The Bobcats return to action on September 10th when they travel to play in the Vulcan Invitational. For up-to-date information on all Frostburg sports visit www.frostburgsports.com
