Braun, Thomson-Moran Help Volleyball to Five-Set Win Over Falcons

FROSTBURG, Md. – The Frostburg State Volleyball team earned a massive five-set win at home over Notre Dame (Ohio) on Friday night.
 
FSU came out hot to start the first set, scoring the first five points on an ace and kill by junior AJ Thompson and a combined block between seniors Beverly Braun and McKaily Thomson-Moran. The Falcons could never get into a rhythm, as senior Hayley Delor and freshman Alyssa Stanton combined for three aces, while Braun and freshman Maddie Lewis knocked down kills as the lead grew to 16-6. NDC finally gained some footing with a 6-2 run that brought the deficit down to six, but Thomson-Moran responded with a solo block and kill to keep Frostburg in a healthy lead. Braun and Delor both found the floor, with the latter combining with Thompson on a block, then senior Katie Keech ended the set with yet another ace to win 25-15.
 
Notre Dame flipped the script in set two, jumping ahead 5-2 on two kills and a pair of aces. Braun responded with an ace either side of a Lewis-Thomson-Moran block, with the latter being fed by Delor for a kill and putting FSU ahead 7-6. The sides went back-and-forth throughout, as Thompson, Braun, and Thomson-Moran combined for four kills, with Delor and junior Jenna Gossard both serving up aces at a 14-13 Bobcat advantage. NDC scored four of the next five, with sophomore Amanda Knieper, Thompson, and Gossard keeping the match tied at 17-17. A 6-1 Falcon run looked to end the set at 23-18, but Braun kept Frostburg's hopes alive with kills either side of a couple Notre Dame errors. It wouldn't be enough in the end, as the Falcons took the final two points to win 25-22.
 
As they had done in the opening frame, FSU was off to a quick start in the third, using a pair of blocks and a Thompson ace to go ahead 6-1. Slowly but surely, NDC chipped away at the lead, eventually scoring six of seven points to tie things at 11-11. Braun and Thomson-Moran stopped the run with back-to-back kills, as once again each team traded points up to a narrow 17-16 Notre Dame lead. Knieper kicked off a five-point Bobcat run, followed up by another kill and a Gossard ace to gain control at 21-17. The Falcons showed no signs of giving up the fight, taking five of six points to tie once more at 22-22, but Delor took over, placing a kill then stuffing an attack in helping Frostburg take the set 25-22.
 
For the first time on the night, neither team held a serious advantage in the first rallies of set four, with the sides nearly evenly matched at 6-5 Notre Dame. Three straight Falcon points were responded with FSU taking four of five, featuring kills from Thomson-Moran and Knieper. Seeking to keep the match alive, NDC served up a pair of aces and back-to-back kills to take a 16-10 lead, eventually growing it to 19-12. The Bobcats stormed back, with Knieper leading the charge on a trio of kills, helped out by both Thompson and a Braun ace to get all the way within 20-19. Notre Dame wouldn't be deterred, keeping FSU to just one Knieper kill the rest of the way, taking four of the final five points to force a fifth set at 25-20.
 
Frostburg started the quicker of the two teams in the deciding frame, with Braun finding the floor followed by Thomson-Moran combining with both Delor and Braun on blocks for the first three scores. In keeping their fighting spirit, NDC got back to a 4-4 tie, then shook off a four-point FSU run with three in a row to stay within 8-7. The Bobcats kept pushing forward, as Thomson-Moran and Delor earned kills, with Stanton serving up another ace to go ahead 12-8. A Falcon kill and block pulled them within two, but Thompson and Braun found the floor twice in a row, then the final Notre Dame attack of the match went out of bounds for a 15-10 Frostburg victory.
 
Braun led all scorers with 15 kills, while also tallying a match-high four aces, closely followed by Gossard and Delor putting up three apiece. Thomson-Moran was a force to be reckoned with defensively, setting a new career-high with a whopping eight blocks, while also hitting a match-high .316 on offense. Junior Fiona Gonzalez Medina (16), Keech (12), Gossard (12), and Delor (10) all recorded double-digit digs in the defensive effort.
 
With the win, Frostburg improves to 15-13 overall, while the Falcons fall to 8-14. FSU returns to action Tuesday, November 7 for a road match against West Liberty at 7 p.m. Information and updates will be posted to frostburgsports.com.