Frostburg State University Athletics

FROSTBURG, Md. – The Frostburg State Volleyball team completed their season sweep of Point Park with a 3-1 home victory on Tuesday evening.
 
PPU took the first pair of points to open the match before giving the Bobcats three in a row through errors, then the sides traded back-and-forth, with seniors Raegan Philips and Maya Johnson joining sophomore Adele Evans in getting kills, as the latter two also combined for a block at a 7-7 tie. The Pioneers looked to get the first bit of momentum on the board with four unanswered but FSU responded immediately with a 10-1 run to surge ahead 17-12, with junior Emery Kuebler doing some damage at the service line on a pair of aces, while Philips, Johnson, and senior Grace Yocham found the floor. After going nearly point-for-point up to a 20-15 score, Point Park roared back into the set with eight of the next ten to suddenly pull ahead 23-22. Yocham got Frostburg going again with a pair of kills, however PPU netted three of the next four points to come out ahead 27-25.
 
The teams could hardly be separated to begin the second set, with neither leading by more than a point up to a narrow 9-8 FSU advantage off four combined kills between Evans, Yocham, and Johnson. Some rallies defined the next portion of the set, as the Pioneers rattled off three in a row, with Yocham then finding the floor and serving an ace, as the sides then traded three-point runs for a 14-14 tie. Point Park had a pair of kills and a block nearly canceled out by two errors for a 17-16 advantage, however the Bobcats enjoyed some of their best play of the evening in return, as Evans and sophomore Alliyah McNair took over the attack with four kills. Philips then sent an attack back where it came from, with an Evans ace and McNair-Philips block ending the set at 25-18.
 
Frostburg looked to continue that momentum into the third set, winning five of the first six points off scores from Yocham, Johnson, and McNair. PPU quickly tied things up with four in a row, however FSU responded in turn, as Evans, Yocha, and Johnson went for four kills to go with a pair of Pioneer errors in leading 12-6. Point Park was able to chip away at the deficit, netting three straight at one point to stay within 15-12. Evans put down a pair to the floor in a 4-1 run that got the Bobcats back up by six, as freshman Judy Steffens and Yocham added two more either side of a Johnson ace in leading 22-15. The Pioneers were determined not to let the set get away too easily, however, as they put down five of the next six to pull within 20-23 and force a Frostburg timeout. Out of the break, PPU's resistance fell short, as consecutive errors gave FSU the 25-20 win.
 
Looking to put the match away early in the fourth, Kuebler went for back-to-back aces to start things out, while Yocham added a third after McNair's kill. The Pioneers quickly recovered, going on a 5-1 run to lead 6-5. Frostburg then stormed their way to six unanswered, as Johnson led the way on a trio of kills while also joining Evans on a block, as freshman Rhea Shetty tacked on an ace to go up 11-6. After Point Park took two of the next three to get within four, the Bobcats effectively put the set away with a 9-1 run to surge ahead 21-9, with Yocham, Kuebler, and Philips finding the floor, as the latter also joined Yocham and McNair on blocks. Yocham then broke up a pair of PPU kills, as a Johnson-Philips block was followed by consecutive errors by the visitors to win 25-11 and take the match victory.
 
Leading the attack was Yocham, who set career highs on 14 kills and three aces. Kuebler notched a match-high five scores at the service line, as she and Shetty combined for 40 assists. Freshman Miranda Ball led the defensive effort on 18 digs, as Yocham and Shetty each reached double figures at 10 apiece, with Philips earning a team-high six blocks.
 
With the win, Frostburg improves to 7-14, while Point Park drops to 6-15. FSU will next hit the road to face Shawnee State on Friday, October 23 at 7 p.m. Information and updates will be posted to frostburgsports.com.