Frostburg State University Athletics

INSTITUTE, W. Va. – The Frostburg State Volleyball team fell 3-1 in their Saturday road match to West Virginia State.
 
Looking to rebound from their loss on Friday night, FSU began the match on the front foot, as an ace from senior Maya Johnson, kill by classmate Grace Yocham, and block between freshman Judy Steffens and senior Raegan Philips gave them a 5-2 lead. Keeping up the pressure, Johnson and Philips combined for another trio of kills in pushing the advantage up to 11-5. Freshman Gabrielle Morris then joined in on the action, combining with Johnson on a block before finding the floor, as Steffens then put a pair down and freshman Rhea Shetty hit an ace to go up 18-10. Johnson recorded back-to-back kills hoping for a quick end to the first set, however the Yellow Jackets had other ideas, stunning the Bobcats by going on a 12-2 run to suddenly get to set point at 24-23. Yocham got Frostburg settled again with a pair of kills to regain the lead, then put the set away after Steffens netted a score for a dramatic 27-25 victory.
 
Looking to flip the script, WVSU took an early 6-3 lead in the second set, with FSU getting kills from Morris and Steffens. Yocham put one down to get within 8-6, however the rest of the set wouldn't ever get closer than that, with WV State ripping off eight unanswered and 11 of 12 in surging ahead 19-7. Despite kills from Johnson and junior Emery Kuebler, the Yellow Jackets wasted little time in ending things with a 25-9 set win.
 
FSU kept things even at the start of the third, with Johnson and Yocham each recording a kill before WVSU established a 7-4 lead. Some errors at the line by the Yellow Jackets helped Frostburg get back even, as freshman Kayla Greene and Johnson each found the floor, with the latter also joining Morris for a block. Following back-to-back WV State kills, the Bobcats went for five in a row, as Morris and Yocham joined for a block while Philips had a solo effort, with freshman Miranda Ball adding an ace and Johnson putting down a kill to lead 14-11. WVSU was able to tie things back up with three in a row, as the sides traded runs until Johnson and senior Emma Larkins had a pair of scores while a Greene-Morris block put the Bobcats ahead 20-18. The Yellow Jackets turned things around with three in a row, however Morris and Yocham took over with three combined kills and a block to earn a pair of set points at 24-22. WV State held firm, using a kill and three consecutive Frostburg errors to flip the set on its head and win 26-24.
 
Seeking to keep their momentum rolling, the Yellow Jackets went up 3-1 in the fourth but the Bobcats quickly tied things up through Johnson, Morris, and Yocham kills. WVSU didn't let up, netting five of the next six to grow their lead to four, with a pair of errors keeping FSU around at 10-8. Not wanting to risk any type of Frostburg comeback, WV State went on another big run, netting eight of nine for a commanding 18-9 score. Yocham and Morris hit back-to-back kills but the Yellow Jacket force didn't let up, hitting seven of the final eight points in winning 25-12.
 
Morris had a career day on the block with seven, as Ball recorded a team-high 18 digs. Johnson earned her second straight double-double with 11 kills and 13 digs, as Yocham led the attack on 11 in the former category.
 
With the loss, Frostburg drops to 5-13 on the year, while WVSU improves to 8-10. FSU will next return to Bobcat Arena to host West Virginia Wesleyan for Homecoming Weekend on Friday, October 16 at 7 p.m. Information and updates will be posted to frostburgsports.com.