Frostburg State University Athletics

FAIRMONT, W. Va. – The Frostburg State Volleyball team saw their regular season come to a close with a 3-0 loss on the road to Fairmont State on Thursday evening.
 
The rivalry match, as well as results from various contests in the South Division, would determine MEC Tournament seeding, as the Bobcats came out with determination, scoring six of the first eight points. Freshman Judy Steffens joined seniors Maya Johnson and Grace Yocham in recording kills, with the latter also joining sophomore Adele Evans on a block, who also served an ace. Hitting back with three of the next four, the Fighting Falcons pulled within two before four in a row by Frostburg kept them up 11-5, with Steffens and sophomore Alliyah McNair bookending the scores. The sides traded two-point rallies before Fairmont went on a tear, scoring nine unanswered and 13 of the next 15 to flip the set around at 20-15. A couple service errors helped the Bobcats find their footing, as Johnson, McNair, and senior Raegan Philips each found the floor in getting back within 21-19. As the teams gave one another errors, Evans drove a spike down to bring the deficit down to a point but the Falcons put the final two points down to take the frame 25-22.
 
Set two was a fully back-and-forth affair through a long stretch from the get-go, as neither side led by more than two up to a narrow 11-10 Frostburg lead. McNair, Yocham, and Johnson had two kills apiece while freshman Gabrielle Morris joined the action with a score and a combo block with Johnson. Fairmont took the first swing of momentum, netting five of six in establishing a three-point advantage, as they eventually kept the Bobcats at arms' length up to an 18-14 score. Reversing some of their fortunes from the first set, Frostburg hit back with a 6-1 run, as Johnson, Morris, and Yocham each found the floor, with the former also putting down an ace to suddenly lead 20-19. The Falcons hit three of four to regain a one-point advantage but the Bobcats found themselves at set point after kills from freshman Temerah Holloway and Johnson. Belle DeVall kept Fairmont alive with a kill that also kicked off a shocking 4-1 run as they stole the frame 27-25.
 
Frostburg looked to keep the match alive in the third, holding a close 3-2 lead early on after Yocham and McNair had kills and the former joined Philips on a block. On the other side, the Falcons hoped to end things with a sweep, as they hit seven of the next nine to go up 9-5. Elena Thompson helped extend the hosts' lead with a pair of kills, as Yocham tried to bring the Bobcats back through a spike and joint block with Morris. Fairmont kept up their pressure with three in a row, as each point Frostburg earned was met by a retaliating score. Facing a 19-11 deficit, Johnson spiked one down while freshman Miranda Ball followed with an ace and Morris added a score to get within six, however the Falcons showed no signs of slowing down, putting home five of the final six points to take the set 25-15 and the match sweep.
 
Johnson led the attack with 10 kills, followed by Yocham and McNair each recording eight apiece. Ball drove the defensive effort with 18 digs, as Yocham, Philips, and Morris all had three blocks on the night.
 
With the loss, Frostburg drops to 10-16 on the season, while Fairmont improves to 27-5. Both teams will advance to the MEC playoffs, where the Fighting Falcons will be the tournament hosts with the best overall conference record. The Bobcats qualified as the four seed in the North Division with a 7-9 MEC mark, the program's most conference wins since 2010. They will face South Division champions Concord in the quarterfinals on Wednesday, November 11 at 2 p.m. Information and updates will be posted to frostburgsports.com.