FROSTBURG, Md. – The Kutztown University women's volleyball team claimed a set victory and came close to several more in their final two matches at the Frostburg State Tournament, but their opponents – Goldey-Beacom and Edinboro – emerged victorious on Saturday at Bobcat Arena.
The Golden Bears (0-11) seemed to come close to a win in each of their final two matches at Frostburg State, as they held a 1-1 tie against Goldey-Beacom (6-4) before the Lightning took the match with back-to-back set victories. Kutztown's set two win was anchored by sophomore
Sarah Hess (Landsville, Pa./Hempfield) and freshman
Noelle Slye (Saratoga Springs, N.Y./Saratoga Springs), who had five and three kills, respectively, while splitting a critical block that kept the Golden Bears ahead late in the set.
Hess and
Madison Lowe (Kearneysville, W. Va./Jefferson) were significant disruptors of the Lightning in defeat. The Landsville, Pa., native had a team-leading 14 kills and 4 blocks, while the freshman had seven kills and a pair of ace serves against Goldey-Beacom. Fellow freshman
Saige Thibodeaux (Cape Coral, Fla./Ida S. Baker) tallied 23 assists for the Golden Bears.
Kutztown closed out the weekend with one of its tighter performances to date. While the Fighting Scots of Edinboro (7-4) took the match in straight sets, the Golden Bears hung tough in large parts of all three sets, including a three-point defeat in the opening frame.
The first-year athletes of Kutztown made a run at the Fighting Scots, as
Christina Lockett (Gaithersburg, Md./Tuscarora) recorded nine kills, with four coming in the opening set while posting an efficient .583 hit percentage to lead the team.
Bryanna Carter (Abingdon, Md./Edgewood) pitched in with six kills in a losing effort.
The Golden Bears will head to Philadelphia to take on Chestnut Hill in a non-conference battle on Wednesday, Sept. 25 at 7 p.m., before opening conference play at East Stroudsburg on Friday, Sept. 27 at 7 p.m. Kutztown returns to Keystone Arena on Sept. 30 at 7 p.m. against Caldwell.
