Frostburg State University Athletics

FROSTBURG, Md. – The Frostburg State Volleyball team fell 3-0 at home to Wheeling on Monday evening in their Pink Game for support of Breast Cancer Awareness.
 
FSU looked to get out to a fast start, as senior Grace Yocham and freshman Judy Steffens scored the first two points off back-to-back kills, however WU responded with seven of the next nine points to lead 7-4. The Bobcats then stormed back, as Yocham put down a kill followed by a solo block, while sophomore Kylie Appleton hit three aces as part of a 6-0 run to leap ahead 10-7. Wheeling settled themselves and prevented the deficit from getting worse, as Yocham joined freshman Temerah Holloway in keeping Frostburg's offense going up to a 13-10 score. From there, the Cardinals took full control of the set, netting nine unanswered to surge up 19-13. FSU continued to put up a fight late on, as senior Emma Larkins joined sophomore Adele Evans on a pair of blocks, then seniors Maya Johnson and Raegan Philips hit kills to go with aces from Appleton and sophomore Pia White, battling back to within 22-20. Wanting no part of an ongoing set, Wheeling put down the final three points to secure the 25-20 victory.
 
Frostburg had some more quick offense in the second frame, as Johnson notched a pair of kills while Evans served an ace to go up 5-3. WU then went on an impressive scoring run, netting 13 of the next 16 in establishing a 16-8 advantage. The Bobcats were able to get some momentum back through Larkins and Yocham finding the floor, while a trio of Cardinal errors helped bring them within 18-13. Appleton then put down another ace, as did freshman Rhea Shetty, while Yocham had a kill and joined Evans on a block in getting within 22-18. As they had done in the first set, Wheeling got the points necessary to secure 2-0 match score, hitting three of the final four points in a 25-19 win.
 
For the first time in the contest, the Cardinals came out of the gate the better of the two sides in the third, hitting seven of the first nine for a 7-2 lead. FSU tried to work back through a WU serving error and sophomore Bailey Rafferty finding the line on an ace, however the visitors came back with four in a row in leading 11-4. Hoping to force a fourth set and avoid a sweep, the Bobcats hit another gear from that point, as Rafferty kicked things off on a well-timed skip attack, with Philips finding the floor and Johnson hitting an ace in pulling the deficit all the way back to 12-10. As they had done all night, Wheeling ramped up their offense, scoring seven of the next eight to widen the gap to 19-11. Frostburg still wasn't about to quit, as Yocham sparked a run on a kill, as freshman Gabrielle Morris joined Johnson in recording spikes and a combo block to get back within 21-17. The late points followed the previous frames of the match, as WU put down the final four to take the sweep at 25-17.
 
Yocham led the attack on 10 kills and tied Evans with a team-high three blocks apiece, as Appleton hit a new career-high with five aces. Freshman Miranda Ball led the defensive effort with 13 digs, while Shetty notched a team-high 11 assists.
 
With the loss, Frostburg drops to 8-15 on the year, while Wheeling improves to 15-10. FSU will next hit the road to face Davis & Elkins on Friday, October 30 at 7 p.m. Information and updates will be posted to frostburgsports.com.