BUFFALO, N.Y. – The Frostburg State Volleyball team secured a pair of wins on their first day of the D'Youville Tournament on Friday, defeating Kutztown and Assumption by scores of 3-2 and 3-0, respectively.
 
Beginning the tournament against KU, the Bobcats fell behind early in the first set, as four errors led to a 6-2 deficit. The Golden Bears maintained at least a four-point advantage up to a 12-7 score, however three straight FSU points got them back within two, featuring a kill by junior Grace Yocham. Kutztown grew the lead back up to four, but Frostburg didn't let them get too far away, as graduate Brenna Siperko and freshman Adele Evans combined on a block, while senior Amanda Knieper served up an ace and brought FSU back to 17-16. After trading points to a 20-19 game, KU rattled off four of the next five points to secure a 25-20 set victory.
 
Both teams had short runs to start the second set at a 4-4 tie, with the Bobcats getting ahead 8-5 after kills by sophomore Dani Kunkle, Evans, and Siperko. With Frostburg up 10-8, a 9-2 run gave them a healthy lead, starting with junior Paige Mock putting up a kill and a solo block, while Kunkle, Evans, and sophomore Devin Brunk combined for five scores. Redshirt senior Phoebe Lingold had an ace to push the lead to double-digits, then had kill late in the set, as Brunk evened the match up with a kill that favored FSU 25-17.
 
The Golden Bears had the first point of the third set off an ace, but that was just about their lone highlight, as Frostburg commanded things the rest of the way. The Bobcats put up nine straight points, featuring three kills and a trio blocks from Mock, Kunkle, and Yocham, with Brunk tacking on an ace. As the score reached 12-4, Brunk found the floor either side of a Kunkle kill, kicking off another run that led to a 17-5 advantage. Brunk, Kunkle, and Yocham put things away down the stretch, as FSU dominated the set 25-9.
 
In a complete reversal, Kutztown came out with a vengeance in set four, going on run after run and blitzing Frostburg 20-5. The Bobcats didn't go down quietly, however, as Mock, Brunk, and Yocham all had kills while sophomore Emery Kuebler netted back-to-back aces to cut into the deficit. Eventually being down 23-13, FSU ran off seven of eight points, including a pair of scores by freshman Nevaeh Ware, however KU still came away with a 25-20 victory to go into a winner-take-all fifth.
 
Frostburg was the first to strike, using a pair of errors, a Mock-Yocham block, and a Kunkle kill to nudge ahead 4-2. The sides went back and forth to a 7-6 score before a Kuebler ace kicked off a mini run in which Brunk and Kunkle went for three straight scores and a 12-7 advantage. Mock then stuffed a Golden Bear attack while Kunkle found the floor twice on Kuebler assists to seal the match with a 15-9 final.
 
Kunkle was all around the court for the Bobcats, recording team-highs in both kills (21) and digs (20). Mock put up eight blocks defensively, while Kuebler notched 28 assists and a match-high four aces.
 
The second match against Assumption began to look like another even match-up, as the teams played out to the Greyhounds narrowly leading 11-10. AU then put up three straight points before making it a fourth after a Bobcat timeout. FSU was able to recover, helped out by three consecutive errors, one of which was forced by a Kunkle solo block, pulling within 15-14. Assumption tried to pull ahead with back-to-back points but Evans and Ware were right there to respond with a 17-17 stalemate. Brunk found the floor for a slight lead, but the Greyhounds came right back to go up 19-18. The AU errors piled up, with a serve missing the mark followed by three straight attacking errors, as Mock and Ware combined on a block to put FSU ahead 22-19. Another misplaced serve followed by a Kuebler ace gave the Bobcats three straight set points, but Assumption fended off each one. Tied at 24 apiece, Yocham powered down a kill while a setting error followed to give Frostburg the set 26-24.
 
Once the first set felt competitive early on, the second proved even more balanced nearly all the way through. Until the final pair points, neither side led by more than two scores for the entirety of the frame. Kunkle led the Bobcat scoring early on, then Brunk, Mock, and Yocham all chipped in midway through the set at 12-10 FSU. Kunkle and Mock provided six points through an ace, a block, and a combined four kills up to a 22-20 advantage. After an AU timeout, Evans answered a Greyhound kill with one of her own, as another pair of errors gave Frostburg the win 25-22.
 
Seeking to stay alive in the match and force a fourth set, Assumption came out with a 4-1 lead to begin the third. An error ended the early run, as Kunkle earned a kill and Mock and Lingold served up aces for the Bobcats to go up 6-5. Frostburg kept the pressure on with back-to-back kills from Evans and Brunk followed by a Kunkle ace that forced an AU timeout facing a 10-6 deficit. The Greyhounds were able to take three of the next four points to get back within two, but Ware, Kuebler, and Yocham each found the floor to put up a five-point advantage. Mock and Yocham then both put up a solo block, the latter also adding a kill as the lead stood at 17-11. Assumption tried what they could to get back into the set, netting a pair of back-to-back points, but Yocham and Evans ensured that the FSU lead never dropped below four. As Frostburg got closer to the needed point total, Kunkle and Knieper tacked on a pair of aces while Brunk found the floor twice en route to a 25-16 set victory and match sweep.
 
Brunk led the Bobcats with a team-high seven kills and nine digs, while Lingold and Kuebler combined for 27 assists in the effort.
 
With the sweep, Frostburg improves to 4-4 on the year and will conclude the tournament tomorrow, September 20 against Slippery Rock and hosts D'Youville, with matches scheduled for 12 PM and 6 PM, respectively. Information and updates will be posted to frostburgsports.com.