SHEPHERDSTOWN, W. Va. – The Frostburg State Volleyball team split their season-opening doubleheader at the Shepherd Invitational on Friday, defeating Chestnut Hill 3-1 and falling to Goldey-Beacom 3-0.
 
In the first match of the day, CHC came out with a flurry, going up 5-1 with FSU's only point coming off a serving error. The Bobcats looked to work their way back, as senior Maya Johnson picked up the first kill of the day followed by a block between sophomores Adele Evans and Alliyah McNair. Still, the Griffins held a five-point advantage at 12-7 before Frostburg put together a 7-2 run to tie things at 14-14. McNair got things started with a kill, then freshman Gabrielle Morris and junior Allison Brown combined on a block before Johnson and sophomore Pia White earned a pair of scores, while Evans had a solo stuff.
 
Back-to-back kills from Evans and Brown gave FSU their first lead at 17-16, then McNair tacked on another while White served an ace and Morris, Evans, and Brown had blocks to go up 21-18. Chestnut Hill fought back with two straight points but the Bobcats answered with an error, Johnson kill, and Evans joining senior Raegan Philips on a block to set up four set points. The Griffins were able to withstand three of them, taking advantage of a couple Frostburg errors, however an attacking mistake of their own got FSU the set win at 25-23.
 
CHC took another quick lead to begin set two at 3-1 but Frostburg was much quicker to respond this time around, rattling off seven straight points to lead 8-3, as Morris, Johnson, and Philips each found the floor. The sides then exchanged scoring runs, with the Griffins going up 11-10 having scored eight of ten points, while the Bobcats then hit the next five, as Johnson put up a kill and ace with Brown also adding a score to lead 15-11. Facing a two-set deficit Chestnut Hill caught fire, putting home 14 of the final 16 points to take the set 25-17 and even up the match.
 
FSU had renewed energy in the third set, winning six of the first eight points thanks in part to a pair of aces from senior Alyssa Stanton and a Philips block to lead 6-2. Johnson and senior Emma Larkins continued the momentum with kills either side of an error to go up 10-5, however CHC found their footing, scoring five of six to pull within 11-10. Morris helped Frostburg regain some control through a score and combining with Philips on a block, as White, Stanton, and freshman Miranda Ball all came up with aces, then Johnson found the floor to lead 19-14. Johnson continued to provide offense down the stretch, as Evans tacked on an ace and Larkins polished off the set victory with a kill at 25-19.
 
In the fourth set, both teams had early errors leading to a 3-2 Griffin lead before FSU took command with eight of the next nine points to go ahead 10-4. Philips, Morris, and Johnson combined for four kills in the rally, as Evans and the latter put up a block during the run. Johnson then had two straight scores on a kill and ace, while Larkins and Morris went for back-to-back spikes and a 15-8 score. Chestnut Hill searched for a way back into the set in hopes of keeping the match alive, hitting a pair of three-point runs to get within 17-14. Morris smacked down a kill before Stanton followed with an ace to cool the momentum, however back-to-back Bobcat errors kept the lead at just three. Frostburg wasted little time from that point closing things out, as Morris and Evans put down scores, with the latter joining Johnson on a block and adding another kill, paving the way for a Griffin error giving FSU the set 25-17 and securing the match victory, the first at Frostburg for Head Coach Chanel Davis.
 
Johnson led the Bobcats with a double-double of 10 kills and 12 digs while also adding a pair of aces and three blocks. Evans and Morris put up six blocks apiece and combined for 12 kills, while White and freshman Rhea Shetty had 14 and 11 assists, respectively.
 
Morris began the second match against GBC with a kill, however FSU quickly found themselves down 5-2 after three consecutive aces. Johnson and Evans provided a trio of kills to lead the Frostburg attack but the Lightning put down three straight scores to lead 11-6. FSU followed with McNair finding the floor as back-to-back points then brought them back to 11-9, however Goldey-Beacom put down six of the next eight to go up 17-11. The sides went back-and-forth through the next several rallies, as GBC never let their lead slip below four points up to a 24-18 advantage, as despite kills from Morris, Philips, and Johnson, an error put the set away 25-21.
 
The Lightning looked to continue their momentum into the second set, netting the first three points before the Bobcats responded with Johnson and McNair finding the floor, eventually working back to a 5-5 tie. Goldey-Beacom slightly extended their lead out with three of the next four, as senior Grace Yocham and McNair each scored to stay within 12-9. From that point, it was all GBC, as they ran off five consecutive points for a 17-9 advantage and never let FSU score two in a row en route to a 25-15 set win.
 
To start the third, Morris again was the first for either side to score, however the Lightning looked strong in search of a sweep, putting down nine of the next ten points to lead 9-2. Slowly but surely, Frostburg steadied the ship and worked back into the set, as Evans, Yocham, McNair, and Johnson recorded kills to pull all the way within 16-13. Goldey-Beacom hit back to stop the rally, putting six in a row down for an eight-point lead, then FSU appeared set to stay alive with four of their own, as Evans and McNair each found the floor for a 22-18 score. GBC ended any hopes of a late comeback, using a pair of kills either side of an ace to seal the 25-18 victory and the match sweep.
 
McNair and Johnson drove the offense with 13 combined kills, as Ball led the defense with 13 digs.
 
With the split, Frostburg begins the year 1-1 and will conclude the Invitational on Saturday, August 29 by facing Shaw and Shepherd. Information and updates will be posted to frostburgsports.com.