FROSTBURG, Md. – The Frostburg State volleyball team dropped a home game against Wheeling in four sets on Tuesday evening. 
 
FSU started with three straight points, with three combined kills coming from junior Maya Johnson and sophomore Dani Kunkle. The Cardinals responded quickly, rattling off eight straight and going up 9-4 before the Bobcats fought their way back. Johnson broke the run on a kill, then freshman Adele Evans joined Kunkle for a block as Frostburg pulled within 9-8. After a WU kill, junior Grace Yocham kicked off a stunning FSU run of seven points, in which Evans and sophomore Devin Brunk combined for three kills, while the former enjoyed a pair of blocks to move up 15-10. The Bobcats continued to power ahead, with Brunk and junior Paige Mock putting down kills either side of freshman Kylie Appleton getting an ace, then sophomore Emery Kuebler served one of her own to surge ahead 23-12. Wheeling put up four straight to stay alive, but Johnson found the floor and combined with Mock on a block to win the set 25-16.
 
Set two started off with a big kill from Mock to get the Bobcats going. Both teams fought back-and-forth, with Frostburg taking three of four on a Johnson kill, redshirt senior Phoebe Lingold's ace, and an Evans-Yocham block, to lead 7-4. WU hit back by scoring the next four, as the sides locked into battle. The Cardinals took four of five to go up 14-11, to which FSU responded with five of six as Johnson led the way on a pair of kills and three combined blocks with Mock. After falling behind to a narrow 18-17 advantage, Wheeling ran off five consecutive points for a 22-18 score. Evans had a nice cross court kill to end the run, followed with a block between Mock and Yocham, while an Appleton ace got things back to 22-21. Shaking off any loss of momentum, the Cardinals took the last three points to win 25-21 and even the match up at one set apiece. 
 
Brunk led off the third with a kill of the side of the block, while Johnson, Yocham, and Evans all found the floor to help the Bobcats run out to an 8-3 lead. The Cardinal slowly crept back into the set until they tied things up at 15-15. After Wheeling took the lead following a 9-1 run, back-to-back kills from Brunk tied the set again, while Yocham added a pair of her own to help FSU take a 21-19 lead. The sides traded two-point runs, with Johnson getting a block and a kill to get to a pair of set points at 24-22. A serving error and WU kill brought the set level as some of the best back-and-forth action of the year proceeded. With each team determined to take the go-ahead set, the game was tied five times, with both teams having chances at set points. Three errors proved to be the difference in Wheeling taking four of the final five points to win 30-28. 
 
After battling back to take an exhausting third, it would be all WU to start the fourth. Following a trade of the first two points, the visitors went on a surge of offense, taking a commanding 11-2 score. Frostburg could only chip at one and two points at a time, as the Cardinals wouldn't let FSU get back into the set. A run of three straight kills from sophomore Allison Brown, Brunk, and Yocham would turn out to be the Bobcats' highlight, as Wheeling took the match with a 25-14 score. 
 
Frostburg was led by Brunk's with 13 kills, as Johnson chipped in with a season-high 10 to reach double figures. The trio of Jonhson, Mock, and Evans were a force on the block, combining for 19 between the three. Kunkle aided the defensive effort with 16 digs, followed closely by Brunk's 15. 
 
With win, the Cardinals move to 7-8 and 4-0 in MEC play with the Bobcats going to 5-9 and 0-3 in the conference. Frostburg will host West Liberty on Friday, October 10 for a 7 PM start. For more information, please visit frostburgsports.com.