Frostburg State Volleyball Pulls to 4-1

The Frostburg State Volleyball team won their second game of the year against Lincoln State. Similar to their first meeting, the Bobcats dominated Lincoln in every way as they swept them, winning three games to Lincoln’s zero. Bobcats led in every statistic in the box score except blocks, displaying how prepared they were for this game.

In the first set, Frostburg jumped out to a 7 to 1 lead and never stepped off of the gas pedal. The Bobcats took the first set 25 to 13. In the second set, Frostburg got off to another great start leading 17 to 7 before closing the set 25 to 11. Lincoln turned up the pressure in the third set and led 10 to 9 to start off, but the Bobcats would come back to take a 16 to 15 lead. Soon after, Frostburg regained the lead and ended the match 25 to 20.

“We just tried to stay focused and tried to bring the same intensity we brought the last time we faced them,” said sophomore middle hitter Raven Pratt. “It feels good to start off the season 2-0 but we have to keep our composure and stay focused on being consistent throughout the rest of the season.”

In the box score, senior middle hitter Biamba Tshitenge had nine kills and one block, Pratt had seven kills, sophomore outside hitter Haley Altemus seven kills, and first-year outside hitter Jackie Sterenburg had six kills.

The Bobcats volleyball team continued their winning streak as they entered the Frostburg Tournament Friday, Sept. 13th with 2 wins and 0 losses on the season. Frostburg opened the tournament against Bowie State, the other institution in Maryland that competes in Division II. The Bulldogs entered the match with a 1-1 record.

The Bobcats would continue on in their recent stretch of wins by sweeping Bowie, 3 to 0. In the box score, Frostburg lead in almost every category in the win. In the first set, the Bobcats made a statement closing the set 25 to 8 with a hitting percentage of .391. Frostburg and Lincoln were neck in neck in the second set, and the set was competitive from the start, but the Bobcats would eventually pull out to a 25 to 16 win. Frostburg ran out to a fast 18 to 6 lead in the third set before pulling out to win the set 25 to 9 to clinch the first match of the tournament. Bowie State would fall to 1-2 on the season.

“It was good to come out and get our first win of the tournament. It was fun being out there with my teammates and competing against a good team,” Tshitenge said about the first match.

The final stat line for Frostburg had Altemus with 9 kills, Tshitenge with 7 kills and 2 aces, Pratt had 7 kills, and senior outside hitter Bailey Godlove had 4 kills.

The Frostburg Volleyball team entered the second day of the Frostburg Tournament with a perfect 3-0 record. They faced the University of Sciences who came in with a 0-4 record, hoping to get their first win of the season in Frostburg. The Bobcats would shut the Devils out 3-0 to take the match and would move up to 4 and 0 on the season.

This would be the most competitive game of the season thus far for the Bobcats. The first set was back and forth, but a 6 to 1 run by the Bobcats put enough distance between the teams to give them the chance to seal the win, 25 to 18. The second set was the same as the first with the Bobcats coming out with a 6-2 lead before a 5 to 1 run towards the end of the game to give Frostburg the edge to win the set 25 to 23. The third set was a tight game and had a lot of lead changes, and the game ended with  Frostburg sealing the match 26 to 24.

The Bobcats lead in hit percentage, blocks, and aces. The stat line had Sterenberg with 9 kills and 1 ace, Altemus with 6 kills and 3 blocks, first-year setter Edwyna Lainez 5 kills and 1 ace, and Tshitenge had 4 kills and 3 blocks.

The Bobcats came into the final of the Frostburg Tournament with a 4-0 record. Their opponent, Alderson Broaddus, entered the match on a 3 game win streak with a 3-4 record.

Frostburg would lose their first game of the season in a shutout. The Bobcats would remain competitive throughout the entire match, but Alderson Broaddus would find a way to pull out in each match. In the first set, the Bobcats lead 16 to 15, but the Battlers would eventually tie the game up 24 to 24 to go on to win the set 26 to 24 which would be the most competitive set of the match. In the second set, the Battlers would jump out to an 11 to 4 lead and would not give up the lead to win 25 to 19. In the third set, Frostburg came out hot and would lead the Battlers 10 to 7 but could not hold them off and would lose the game 25 to 20.

The Bobcat’s stat line had Tshitenge with 10 kills and 2 blocks, Sterenberg with 7 kills, Godlove with 6 kills and 1 block, and Pratt with 5 kills and 1 block. This would be the only game of the season where the Bobcats were outscored in kills, hit percentage and assists. The Bobcats had 33 kills, .080 hitting percentage, and 30 assists.

“It was a tough loss, we faced a good team, but we gave it our all. All we can do is take this game as a lesson and prepare for the next game,” said Pratt of the defeat.

The Bobcats will travel to face Chowan University at 5 pm on Friday, Sept. 20th.