Volleyball Falls to Wayne State in First Game of Season Opening Tournament

DETROIT, Mich. – The Frostburg State Volleyball team kicked off their season on Friday afternoon, dropping their first match of the Warrior Invitational 3-0 to the hosts Wayne State. 
 
Frostburg scored the first point of the season off a kill from freshman Dani Kunkle, that was set up by freshman Emery Kuebler.  Wayne State then put their offensive attack together, going for the next five points to jump in front 5-1.  Kuebler to Kunkle accounted for the next pair of FSU's points, as the score went on to read 6-3.  The Warriors kept their momentum going on offense, knocking down the next two points, before junior Amanda Knieper smacked down her first kill of the season for an 8-4 game.  WSU found themselves with everything flowing on offense, as they earned the next six points to push ahead 14-4.  Freshman Allison Brown picked up a point for the Bobcats off a pass from Kuebler, but Wayne State kept finding a way to put a streak of points together, going for three more consecutive points.  Frostburg was able to tack on some points to their score due to some errors by the Warriors, as the game then saw 18-8.  Senior Brenna Siperko and Kunkle worked together for two more FSU points, but WSU scored four straight points to end set one in their favor 25-12. 
 
Freshman Devin Brunk picked up the first point of the game in set two, as kills from sophomore Paige Mock and Kuebler put the Bobcats ahead 4-3.  Both teams swapped points back and forth, before Frostburg found themselves with a 10-7 lead after points from Kunkle and Knieper, along with some service errors from the Warriors.  Back-to-back kills once again from Kunkle and Knieper kept FSU in the lead, before Wayne State surged for three straight points to jump in front 16-15.  Another kill from Kunkle and a few errors from WSU helped the Bobcats stay within one, but the Warriors were able to keep their lead, giving them a 25-19 victory heading into to set three. 
 
FSU once again found themselves starting a set with offensive action, with Kuebler dishing another pass to Knieper for a kill.  Knieper kept powering for another pair of kills, followed by one from Siperko, as both teams traded leads back and forth.  WSU went for a trio of points to go in front 7-4, before Frostburg stormed for three straight points of their own to tie the game at 9-9.  Wayne State put everything together offensively, capturing three more straight points, before going on another six point run.  The Bobcats were able to spark for three straight kills from Knieper, Brunk, and Siperko, as they then received three more points off attack errors from the Warriors, setting the score at 22-17 in favor of Wayne State.  Knieper was able to slice one more kill for one more FSU point, as WSU was able to come out on top 25-18 to conclude the 3-0 sweep. 
 
Knieper led the way offensively for the Bobcats, finishing the day with a team-high 10 kills, as Kunkle was next with six, and Mock and Brunk provided four each.  Kuebler dished out a game-high 23 assists, while senior Fiona Gonzalez Medina provided a game-high 10 digs. 
 
With the loss, Frostburg begins the season 0-1, while Wayne State starts 1-0.  The Bobcats will face Ohio Dominican at 10 AM on Saturday, September 7 for day two of the Warrior Invitational, before concluding their weekend with Northwood at 1 PM tomorrow as well.  For more information and updates, please visit frostburgsports.com.