FROSTBURG, Md. – The Frostburg State volleyball team split in the opening day of the Bobcat Invitational on Friday, dropping the opening match 3-1 to Pitt-Johnstown before reversing that score in a win over Ohio Dominican.

Kicking off its home season, FSU welcomed Pitt-Johnstown, Shippensburg and Ohio Dominican to Bobcat Arena, with Frostburg starting the tournament facing off against UPJ.

The Bobcats started strong in the first set, going on a five-point run with a kill from junior Grace Yocham and a pair of combo blocks from classmate Paige Mock to take a 12-9 lead. Both teams exchanged runs after that, with the set eventually being tied at 25-25. Sophomore Dani Knukle put the Bobcats up 27-26 on a kill before UPJ won the final three points, taking the set 29-27.

In set two, FSU again found a run midway through the set, scoring six straight points, highlighted by a trio of senior Amanda Knieper aces and bookended by kills from sophomors Emery Kuebler and Devin Brunk, for a 12-7 lead. The Mountain Cats then swung momentum back in their favor, taking 10 of the next 12 points and getting the lead back 19-15. Frostburg fought backto get within a point on three separate occasions, as sophomore Dani Kunkle found the floor followed by an ace, as Brunk added a kill and Kuebler and Mock combined for a block, but in the end it wasn't enough as Pitt-Johnstown secured the 25-22 win for a 2-0 match advantage.

Needing a set win to stay alive, FSU came out swinging in the third, taking an early lead 4-3 after a service ace from Mock. The Bobcats continued to build on the lead, at one point taking 11 of 15 scores to take a lead of 19-9. Brunk, Kunkle, and Yoacham were the driving forces on offense, combining for six kills in the process. Despite UPJ going on a five-point run late on, Frostburg was able to take advantage of their lead, as Kuebler secured the final two kills for a 25-18 victory. 

Spurred on by keeping the match going, FSU took an early lead in the fourth, going up 8-4 after kills from Brunk and Kubeler, as the latter also joined graduate Brenna Siperko on a block. UPJ settled in and tied things up at 12-12 before a 7-1 run put them ahead 18-13. Despite a pair of Mountain Cat errors, the Bobcats couldn't find a way back into the set, as the visitors pulled away 25-16 on three consecutive aces for their opening win of the day.

Brunk and Mock led the Bobcats with 15 total points apiece, while Kuebler had 33 assists and Siperko led in blocks with five.

In the final game of the day, FSU took on Ohio Dominican after the latter defeated Shippensburg in a five-set match just beforehand.

After a slow start allowed ODU to take a 6-2 lead, the Bobcats found a rhythm and tied up the set at 7-7 after kills from Yocham and Kunkle. The Panthers earned back-to-back scores to build a slight advantage, with they held onto and grew into a 19-14 lead. In response, Mock took charge of the attack with a pair of kills, as Kuebler added an ace while Kunkle and Siperko chipped in to take a shock 22-20 score. Ohio Dominican came right back to tie things on back-to-back points, but a trio fo late errors handed the Bobcats the first set 25-23.

In similar fashion to the first set, ODU sprung ahead 6-2 early in set two, eventually taking control of things at 12-5. Brunk found the floor and Knieper had an ace to get FSU within four, but the Panthers were intent on evening the match, not letting the hosts get any closer en route to a commanding 25-14 win.

Swiftly wiping away any negativity, set three saw the Bobcats come out and score the first three points including a pair of Brunk aces. Ohio Dominican came back within 5-4, but Frostburg was able to go on a 7-1 run in which Kunkle, Mock, and Brunk went for four kills and a Knieper ace to lead 12-5. Kunkle and Yocham each had kills trying to stem a Panther run that ended up getting the visitors back to within 18-15. Bobcat Arena sprung to life when Kuebler and Siperko came up with a nice block, putting FSU up five. Kunkle put up an ace and a kill trying to finish the set off, but ODU, facing a 23-17 deficit, rolled off four in a row to pull within two. Frostburg maintained their compusure at the end of the set, taking full advantage of their lead, aided by a pair of serving errors to win 25-22 and go up two sets to one.

Frostburg started the fourth set strong with an early lead, as Yocham carried the offense on four kills with the score at 10-3. Ohio Dominican fought back into the set slowly but surely, cutting the FSU lead to 11-9 following a 4-0 run. Siperko and Kunkle netted scores either side of an ODU error to edge ahead 14-10, but the visitors answered with five of their own until Mock notched a pair of kills for a 15-15 tie. It seemed as if Frostburg would be able to set the Panthers down after three straight scores from Yocham and Mock, however Ohio Dominican matched them at each turn. The set was tied at 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26 and 27, with each team fending off multiple set points. Finally, after ODU staved off a 27-26 deficit, the Bobcats took the game with Kunkle carrying the way on a kill and combo block with Siperko to end the marathon ahead 29-27.

Kuebler had 28 assists to go with 13 digs in an impressive all-round performance. Kunkle, Yocham and Brunk had 13, 11 and 10 kills respectively, with the latter adding four aces to boot. As a team the Bobcats had nine service aces and 45 total kills.

With the split, Frostburg moves to 2-3 on the season and takes the court again to close out the invitational against Shippensburg at 4 PM. For more information please visit frostburgsports.com