FROSTBURG, Md. – The Frostburg State Volleyball team earned a massive five-set win at home over Notre Dame (Ohio) on Friday night.
Â
FSU came out hot to start the first set, scoring the first five points on an ace and kill by junior AJ Thompson and a combined block between seniors Beverly Braun and McKaily Thomson-Moran. The Falcons could never get into a rhythm, as senior Hayley Delor and freshman Alyssa Stanton combined for three aces, while Braun and freshman Maddie Lewis knocked down kills as the lead grew to 16-6. NDC finally gained some footing with a 6-2 run that brought the deficit down to six, but Thomson-Moran responded with a solo block and kill to keep Frostburg in a healthy lead. Braun and Delor both found the floor, with the latter combining with Thompson on a block, then senior Katie Keech ended the set with yet another ace to win 25-15.
Â
Notre Dame flipped the script in set two, jumping ahead 5-2 on two kills and a pair of aces. Braun responded with an ace either side of a Lewis-Thomson-Moran block, with the latter being fed by Delor for a kill and putting FSU ahead 7-6. The sides went back-and-forth throughout, as Thompson, Braun, and Thomson-Moran combined for four kills, with Delor and junior Jenna Gossard both serving up aces at a 14-13 Bobcat advantage. NDC scored four of the next five, with sophomore Amanda Knieper, Thompson, and Gossard keeping the match tied at 17-17. A 6-1 Falcon run looked to end the set at 23-18, but Braun kept Frostburg's hopes alive with kills either side of a couple Notre Dame errors. It wouldn't be enough in the end, as the Falcons took the final two points to win 25-22.
Â
As they had done in the opening frame, FSU was off to a quick start in the third, using a pair of blocks and a Thompson ace to go ahead 6-1. Slowly but surely, NDC chipped away at the lead, eventually scoring six of seven points to tie things at 11-11. Braun and Thomson-Moran stopped the run with back-to-back kills, as once again each team traded points up to a narrow 17-16 Notre Dame lead. Knieper kicked off a five-point Bobcat run, followed up by another kill and a Gossard ace to gain control at 21-17. The Falcons showed no signs of giving up the fight, taking five of six points to tie once more at 22-22, but Delor took over, placing a kill then stuffing an attack in helping Frostburg take the set 25-22.
Â
For the first time on the night, neither team held a serious advantage in the first rallies of set four, with the sides nearly evenly matched at 6-5 Notre Dame. Three straight Falcon points were responded with FSU taking four of five, featuring kills from Thomson-Moran and Knieper. Seeking to keep the match alive, NDC served up a pair of aces and back-to-back kills to take a 16-10 lead, eventually growing it to 19-12. The Bobcats stormed back, with Knieper leading the charge on a trio of kills, helped out by both Thompson and a Braun ace to get all the way within 20-19. Notre Dame wouldn't be deterred, keeping FSU to just one Knieper kill the rest of the way, taking four of the final five points to force a fifth set at 25-20.
Â
Frostburg started the quicker of the two teams in the deciding frame, with Braun finding the floor followed by Thomson-Moran combining with both Delor and Braun on blocks for the first three scores. In keeping their fighting spirit, NDC got back to a 4-4 tie, then shook off a four-point FSU run with three in a row to stay within 8-7. The Bobcats kept pushing forward, as Thomson-Moran and Delor earned kills, with Stanton serving up another ace to go ahead 12-8. A Falcon kill and block pulled them within two, but Thompson and Braun found the floor twice in a row, then the final Notre Dame attack of the match went out of bounds for a 15-10 Frostburg victory.
Â
Braun led all scorers with 15 kills, while also tallying a match-high four aces, closely followed by Gossard and Delor putting up three apiece. Thomson-Moran was a force to be reckoned with defensively, setting a new career-high with a whopping eight blocks, while also hitting a match-high .316 on offense. Junior Fiona Gonzalez Medina (16), Keech (12), Gossard (12), and Delor (10) all recorded double-digit digs in the defensive effort.
Â
With the win, Frostburg improves to 15-13 overall, while the Falcons fall to 8-14. FSU returns to action Tuesday, November 7 for a road match against West Liberty at 7 p.m. Information and updates will be posted to frostburgsports.com. Â
Â