ALBANY, N.Y. – The Frostburg State Volleyball team pushed their win streak to four with sweeps of Roberts Wesleyan and Saint Rose on Saturday afternoon.  
 
In a rematch from September 9 against RWC, FSU jumped out to an early 4-0 lead in the first set, courtesy of kills from junior Beverly Braun, sophomore AJ Thompson, and an ace by senior Bianca Smalls. The lead grew all the way to 8-1 on a kill from Smalls and another by Braun. With the score at 11-2, the sides traded points to get to 15-8, where Frostburg would take full command of the set. A pair of Braun kills followed by kills from Smalls and senior Edwyna Lainez brought the lead to 21-10, where Braun later tallied an ace and a kill to take the first set 25-12.
 
The Bobcats again got out to a fast start in the second set, with Braun spiking down three straight kills for a 4-2 lead. The Redhawks got back to 5-4, but then had four straight errors to give FSU a 9-4 lead. Roberts Wesleyan was able to hang on just enough throughout the set to get the score to 17-12, but Braun was too much to handle, joining junior Katie Keech and Thompson to take five of six points for a 22-13 lead. Lainez and junior McKaily Thomson-Moran combined for a big block that closed out the set 25-15 to put the Bobcats within a set of taking the match.
 
Frostburg continued their streak of early leads, taking the score to 9-3 as Braun and Thompson led the attack from the start of set three. RWC settled in and took four of five points to get back within 10-7. The Bobcats quickly responded with five straight points, as Keech, Thompson, and Braun all scored to take a 15-7 lead. Braun continued to be the star of the show with kills down the stretch, helped out by Thomson-Moran and an ace from redshirt junior Hayley Delor for a 21-11 lead. Keech finished off the match with a kill off a Delor assist for a 25-14 set win and the match sweep.
 
Braun had a match-high 19 kills and hit an astounding .704, with Keech (seven kills, .545 hit pct.) and Thompson (six kills, .667 hit pct.) helping get the team to a .500 hitting percentage for the match, tying the season-high. Lainez and Delor combined for 37 assists, while sophomore libero Fiona Gonzalez Medina recorded a match-high 10 digs to lead the defensive effort.
 
Looking to complete the weekend sweep, the Bobcats got out to a 4-2 lead in the first set against Saint Rose with a combined block from Braun and Thomson-Moran followed by a kill by Delor. Braun then recorded an ace and a kill to go up 7-3 before the teams traded points up to 13-9. Thomson-Moran then got a kill and assisted Braun, with an ace from Lainez pushing the lead to 16-9. Gonzalez Medina scored an ace and Thomson-Moran spiked another kill to go up 19-11 as FSU tried to close out the set early, but the Golden Knights scored five straight points to get within 19-16. Saint Rose maintained their pressure, getting four of the next five points to bring the deficit to one at 21-20, but Frostburg was able to close the set out with a block and kill from Thomson-Moran to win 25-20.
 
The Bobcats again got out to a quick lead in set two, with Braun and Thompson recording kills to take a 5-1 lead. This time, the Golden Knights were unable to find a run to get back into the set, as a kill from Braun, an ace by Lainez, and Thomson-Moran joining Braun on a block got the lead out to 16-8. Thompson, Braun and Keech all scored in a row to bring the score to 21-12, as Braun, Thompson, and Delor closed out the set with the final four points, as the latter two combined on the winning block 25-14.
 
Set three saw a reversal of the previous two sets, as Saint Rose was able to get out to a quick 5-2 lead as they looked to stay in the match. A Braun kill and Lainez ace were able to even the score at 5-5, but the Golden Knights kept narrow leads at 7-5, 8-6, and 10-8. FSU was finally able to get their first lead of the set, winning five of six points thanks to aces from sophomore Phoebe Lingold and Smalls in between a kill from Thompson to go up 13-11. Saint Rose battled back to tie the score at 15-15 but four straight Bobcat points put Frostburg in the driver seat at 19-15 thanks to kills from Braun and Keech and back-to-back blocks by Thomson-Moran and sophomore Madison Reed. Keech helped FSU to three straight points to take a strong 22-17 lead, but Saint Rose fired back with seven of the next eight points to take it to set point at 24-23. Delor recorded a kill then combined with Thompson on a block to stave off the set point and bring Frostburg within a point of winning the match. The Golden Knights survived and pushed the Bobcats for several points as each side had chances to take the set, as it would be Frostburg to finally string three points together on a kill from Reed and a Thompson-Smalls block to end the thrilling set 31-29 and take the match.
 
Braun led all scorers with 16 kills, as Keech tied her season-high in kills with eight. Gonzalez Medina again was the star defensively, recording a match-high 13 digs, aided by Thomson-Moran's match-best five blocks.
 
With the victories, Frostburg improves to 12-4 overall, already the program's most wins in a season since 2017. The Bobcats return to the court for their MEC opener on the road at Alderson Broaddus Tuesday, September 20 at 7 p.m. Information and updates will be posted to frostburgsports.com.