YORK, Pa. – The York College volleyball team fell to the Frostburg State Bobcats on Wednesday night in Charles Wolf Gymnasium 3-2.

The loss drops the Spartans' record to 2-3 in conference play and 10-15 overall while the Bobcats improve to 3-3 in conference play and 14-14 overall.

Both teams were evenly matched in the first set. After exchanging the first six points of the set, the Spartans used a 5-0 run to gain the 8-3 lead. The Bobcats quickly fought back and took the lead 12-11. For the rest of the set, neither team was able to score more than two consecutive points. After the Spartans tied the set at 23-23, the Bobcats won the set by winning the next two points. 

The second set looked like an exact duplicate of the first. Both teams refused to let the other team go on a run and gain momentum. Finally, with the scored tied 18-18, the Spartans found their groove and won seven of the next nine points to close out the set, 25-20.

The third set was another evenly matched set, however York was able to make a few more plays than Frostburg. The Spartans were unable to put together any long, dominant runs in the set but were able to settle for effective runs nonetheless including a 7-3 run early on and a 9-5 run late. The Spartans won the third set 25-18.

Frostburg was able to put together some methodical runs of their own in the fourth set. Trailing 5-3, the Bobcats went on an 11-6 run to take a 15-11 lead. The Spartans did all they could to come back and were able to pull the set back to a one point deficit at 18-17. But the Bobcats finished strong from there, winning seven of the next ten points to win the set 25-20 and force a decisive fifth set.

The Bobcats really dug deep in the final set. After winning the first five points, they let the Spartans back into it but still clung to a 7-5 lead. The Bobcats then went on an 8-1 run to finish the Spartans off 15-6.

The Bobcats offense was led by sophomore Naya Cheatem who was nailing shots all over the floor all night long. Cheatem finished with a game-high 24 kills and an astounding .348 attack percentage and seven digs on defense. Madelyn Torres also had a nice game on offense as she finished with a game-high 39 assists and five service aces. Lindsey Scepura led the way on defense with 10 digs.

The Bobcats finished with 49 kills, an attack percentage of .199, 45 assists, and seven service aces.

Kelly Cavey (Hampstead, Md. / Hereford) and Eryn Brady (King of Prussia, Pa. / Upper Merion) paced the Spartan offense. Cavey led the team with 12 kills while Brady finished with 11 kills, a .296 attack percentage, and five assists. Sarah Wukitch (East Greenville, Pa. / Southern Lehigh) had a solid game finishing with a team-high 34 assists and four service aces while also contributing 17 digs on defense. Katherine Graziano (Elkridge, Md. / Archbishop Spalding) was the defensive anchor for the Spartans, finishing with 24 digs.

The Spartans finished the match with 48 kills, an attack percentage of .150, 44 assists, and 13 service aces. Both teams combined for 37 ties throughout the match including 15 in the first set.

The Spartans will be back in action on Saturday when they travel to face fifth-ranked Christopher Newport University as part of a tri-match. The Spartans open the day with a 10:00 am match against Lycoming followed by the 12:00 pm match against CNU.

Recap written by Will Wallace - Athletic Communications Student Assistant

Eryn Brady photo courtesy of David Sinclair