FROSTBURG, Md. - For the third-straight year, the Frostburg State volleyball team has earned a trip to the NCAA tournament after capturing the AMCC Championship this past weekend. This year the Bobcats will take on Eastern at host Juniata College on Thursday, November 12 at 12:30 pm, as announced by the NCAA, Monday.
The Bobcats (30-4) enter the tournament on a 11-match winning streak after defeating Penn State Behrend in the AMCC title game (3-1). This is the third-straight year that FSU will travel for the opening round, having lost No.4 ranked Washington-St. Louis and No. 1 Wittenberg in each of the last two years. Frostburg State is making its eighth overall appearance in the NCAA tournament with a 3-7 record.
Eastern University (30-4) earns the trip to the NCAA tournament after defeating DeSales Universiy (3-0) in the Freedom Conference Championship game, winning its second-straight conference title. In the 2008 NCAA tournament, the Eagles advanced to the Sweet 16, where they were defeated by Juniata College 3-0.
Frostburg State is currently ranked 8th in the country in hitting percentage (0.265), 28th in assists per set (11.48) and 29th in kills per set (12.63).
Leading the FSU offense is senior
Brooke Winterling (Glenelg, Md./Glenelg), who currently ranks third nationally in kills per set (4.62). The three-time All-AMCC selection has 551 kills on the season and led the conference in kills in each of her four years. Earlier this season, Winterling set the school record for career kills and currently has 2,180 in her four years as a Bobcat.
Sophomore
Kylie Carrington (New Freedom, Pa./Susquehannock) enters the tournament currently ranked 28th in the nation in assists per set with 10.24. She posted a season-high 61 assists against Gettysburg, which ties for fifth on FSU's single-game records list for assists. During the 2009 season, Carrington has also eclipsed the 2,000 career assists milestone posting 2,304 in two seasons of play.
Junior
Jamie Thomas (Laurel, Md./Reservoir) leads the Bobcat squad defensively with 350 digs on the season, averaging 3.07 per game, and reached 1,000 career digs earlier this year.
EU is currently ranked 2nd nationally in hitting percentage (.288), 14th in assists per set (11.93) and 17th in kills per set (12.98). Courtney Reinhold follows Winterling nationally in kills per set in fourth with 4.59 while Maria Horning ranks 14th in assists per set (10.64). Defensively, Nikki Kummerer leads the Eagles with 457 digs followed by Kelly Groff with 353.
The two teams have faced each other six previous times while the Bobcats lead the overall series 4-2. Eastern won the most recent match, 3-0 last fall, but Frostburg State has won two of the last three.
Fans can follow all the action via live stats at ...
http://www.juniata.edu/athletics/livestats/xlive.htm