FROSTBURG, Md. – The Frostburg State volleyball team defeated West Liberty 3-1 at home for their first conference win of the season.  
 
The Hilltoppers came into the day second in the Mountain East Conference North Division, while FSU was still looking for its first win in MEC play. 

The first set was the definition of back and forth, as neither team led by more than two points up to a narrow 10-9 Bobcat lead following back-to-back kills from junior Paige Mock. WLU then went out with the next four to go up 13-10. After sophomore Dani Kunkle found the floor, the Bobcats rolled off five straight points, all of them coming from Hilltopper errors, to take the lead at 16-14. FSU wouldn't let up, going on a 5-1 run led by kills from Kunkle, Mock, and sophomore Devin Brunk up to 21-16. West Liberty would try to claw their way back to within 23-20, but Brunk, Mock, and freshman Adele Evans each netted scores, the latter getting the set-winner for a 25-21 FSU win.
 
Set two looked similar to the first, with multiple ties and lead changes, as each team went on multi-point runs up to a narrow 9-8 Hilltopper advantage. The visitors then took four of six points for a 13-10 lead, seeking to even up the match. Frostburg responded with three in a row off kills by Brunk and two for Kunkle, while juniors Maya Johnson and Grace Yocham chipped in to help sneak ahead 17-16. West Liberty looked to gain control at 22-20 following a combo block, but Johnson and a pair of Mock aces steered the Bobcats back ahead. Back-to-back Hilltopper scores got them to set point at 24-23 before Kunkle tied things with a kill. FSU fended off a pair set points, then had one of their own after a Mock spike, but the Hilltoppers won four of the next five points to take the marathon 30-28. 

The third set started with plenty of excitement on the Frostburg side, as Brunk had an opening kill that was followed with a big solo block from Johnson and the former serving up an ace to sprint ahead 4-0. WLU had difficulty finding their feet, as Mock, Johnson, Brunk, and Kunkle all found the floor, while redshirt senior Phoebe Lingold put up an ace to grow the advantage to 10-4. The Hilltoppers finally were able to pull back into the set at 11-8 after two straight kills, but Brunk, Kunkle and Johnson all had kills before Mock and Kunkle combined on a block to lead 15-8. West Liberty continued to fight back into the set, turning around a six-point deficit into just two at 19-17 after five kills out of six points. A pair of WLU errors slowed their momentum and made the score 22-18 FSU, as Brunk and Kunkle each put down scores followed by another error to win 25-19.
 
The Hilltoppers came out strong to start set four, notching the first two points and going two-for-one on a pair of occasions to lead 8-4 after an ace. Three West Liberty errors were followed by Lingold finding Mock on a short set kill to make the score 10-8. Three of four then went the visitors' way before freshman Navaeh Ware made an impact with her first action on the night, earning a kill, a solo block, and a combo block with Evans in getting things back tied 14-14 following a Kunkle kill. Determined to keep their match alive, WLU took four of the next five to move back ahead 19-16. After a Hilltopper attack went out of bounds, sophomore Emery Kuebler stepped onto the service line and flipped the set on its head. Three straight serves hit the floor, giving the Bobcats their first lead of the set at 20-19, while three consecutive errors gave FSU a commanding 23-19 advantage. West Liberty fought their way back with a pair of aces of their own, pulling back within one at 23-22. A kill from Brunk helped get the Bobcats to match point at 24-22, then Mock and Ware stuffed an attack, taking set four 25-22 for the match victory. 

As a team, FSU hit .204 and had 11 total blocks, while WLU was limited to hitting .125, their lowest mark in four matches. Kunkle (15), Brunk (13) and Mock (10) all had double-digit kills to lead FSU's attack, with the former also notching a team-high 14 digs. Kuebler had 28 assists and 13 digs while serving up four aces, as Mock led all players with six blocks and a whopping .476 hitting percentage, not making a single attacking error.
 
With the victory, Frostburg is now 6-9 and1-3 in the MEC, while West Liberty moves to 9-10 and 2-2 in conference play. The Bobcats will host Fairmont State on Tuesday, October 14 at 7 PM. For more information visit frostburgsports.com.