MILLERSVILLE, Pa. - The Frostburg State Volleyball team split their second doubleheader at the Maruder Clash on Saturday afternoon by winning the first match against Nyack (3-0) then dropping the second to West Chester (1-3).
The Bobcats got off to a hot start against Nyack, that was ignited by three straight Warrior miscues for a 3-1 lead. Sophomore Beverly Braun would throw down two kills and junior Hayley Delor served up 2 aces as FSU continued to capitalize on some errors by Nyack and pushed their lead to 13-4. Sophomore AJ Thompson would finish the set with several big blocks at the net to secure the set 25-9.
Braun would continue to dominate in the second set, as she recorded five kills on the first 10 Bobcat points. She would go on to record two aces and freshman Joie Allen would hammer down two kills to roll in the second set 25-15.
Junior Katie Keech would begin set three with a block and a kill to give Frostburg an early 2-1 advantage. Senior Edwina Lainez would go on service run as she had two aces and went on a 4-0 run to push the Bobcat lead to 10-3. Braun would record three kills and an ace as FSU took the final set 25–15.
Braun led the Bobcats with 14 kills, with Allen tying her season-high on seven kills to lead the charge. Lainez dished out 13 assists and sophomore Fiona Gonzalez-Medina led the defense with 13 digs.
In match two against West Chester, the Bobcats got off to a hot start again, as junior McKaily Thomson-Moran, Braun, and Thompson were money with their attack to smash six kills and jump out to an 11-8 lead. Keech and Allen would join the fun as they contributed kills to go along with more dominance by the offense and Frostburg pulled out set one, 25-21.
Thompson would lead the charge in set two, as she got herself a block, kill, and six service points to give Frostburg an early 12-6 lead. The Golden Rams would go on a run that put them up 14-13, but it was ended on a blast from the right hand of Braun. Keech would do her best to push FSU to victory with a big block and kill, but West Chester was too much down the stretch to take set two 25-22.
WCU got ahead and stayed ahead in the third set with an early 4-0 lead before a kill from Keech got FSU on the board. The Bobcats would cut the deficit to two at 13-11 after back-to-back kills by Keech. The Golden Rams would find another gear to widen the gap and eventually take the set 25-19.
FSU would start the fourth set in a hole as WCU blasted off to an 11-4 lead. Braun would insert two key kills, a block, and an ace to bring the deficit back to three at 13-10. Thomson-Moran would catch fire down the stretch as she put down four straight kills, but it was too late as West Chester escaped 25-20 and took the match 3-1.
Braun would contribute 16 kills, Thomson-Moran added 11 kills, just one kill off her career-high, and Delor would record 29 assists to lead the offense. Gonzalez-Medina had 18 digs and senior Bianca Smalls would add 12 in the defensive effort.
With the split, Frostburg now stands at 6-2 on the year, their best start to a season since the 2017 team that went 8-2 to begin the year. The team returns to the court on Friday, September 9 as they begin the Crimson Hawk Classic in Indiana, Pa. against D'Youville at 4 p.m. and Roberts Wesleyan at 8 p.m.. Information and updates will be posted to frostburgsports.com.
