Division-Leading Cardinals Defeat Volleyball at Home

FROSTBURG, Md. – The Frostburg State Volleyball team fell in a 3-0 sweep to Wheeling on Monday evening.
 
FSU began the match on the front foot, as freshman Devin Brunk got the first kill on the board, followed by back-to-back aces from junior Amanda Knieper for a 3-0 lead. The Cardinals responded immediately, scoring eight of the next nine points to take an 8-4 lead, with the Bobcats pulling back within two after scores by Brunk and Knieper and a combined block from senior AJ Thompson and freshman Emery Kuebler. WU slowly but surely increased their lead, which grew to as many as six until Thompson scored a pair of kills then joined Knieper on a block that brought the score to 18-14. Wheeling quickly shut down any hope of a battle for the set, as they took seven of the next eight points to seal a 25-15 win.
 
The Cardinals continued their momentum into the second set, winning the first five points and nine of the first eleven to open up a quick seven-point advantage. Sophomore Paige Mock helped break the run with a kill, then Brunk and freshman Dani Kunkle each served up an ace, with the latter also joining Thompson on a block to help pull back within four. WU continued to churn out points, not letting FSU get close, eventually going ahead 23-14 in search of another quick victory. The Bobcats hung around with Kunkle finding the floor twice in the span of three points, but back-to-back serving errors put an end to things at 25-17.
 
Still determined to take something from the match, Frostburg made the third frame a back-and-forth battle, starting with kills from Mock and Kunkle along with the former joining sophomore Grace Yochum on an early 3-1 lead. The sides traded three-point runs, as FSU was led by Thompson and Kunkle combining for three kills to go along with aces by redshirt junior Phoebe Lingold and junior Chloe Del Signore, with the score now at 10-9. After the Cardinals went up by two, Knieper knocked down back-to-back scores and Mock joined Yochum on a block to regain the lead. As they had done in the previous two sets, Wheeling thought they had things put away after an 8-2 run for a five-point lead. The Bobcats were determined not to let it get away this time, as Thompson, Knieper, and sophomore Maya Johnson went for three scores in a row to stay within two. The Cardinals responded by taking three of the next four to get four chances at match point, which was initially fended off by a Knieper kill and Kuebler before the visitors planted a spike down for the 25-22 victory.
 
Knieper led FSU with 10 kills and three aces, while Kuebler and Lingold combined for 28 assists on the day. The defensive effort was highlighted by junior Fiona Gonzalez Medina's match-high 11 digs, as Mock and Thompson both recorded a trio of blocks.
 
With the loss, Frostburg drops to 10-15 on the year, while Wheeling improves to 19-9. The Bobcats have a lengthy week off before returning home to face West Liberty on Tuesday, November 12 at 7 p.m. Information and updates will be posted to frostburgsports.com.