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MATCH #21
Milwaukee (8-12, 3-4 HL) at Cleveland State (14-6, 6-1 HL)
Friday, Oct. 19, 2012
7:00 p.m.
Woodling Gymnasium
MATCH #22
Green Bay (11-10, 2-5 HL) at Cleveland State
Saturday, Oct. 20, 2012
2:00 p.m.
Woodling Gymnasium
QUICK SETS
Cleveland State (14-6, 6-1) returns home to begin the second half of Horizon League play this weekend, hosting Milwaukee and Green Bay. The Vikings will face the Panthers at 7:00 p.m. on Friday (Oct. 19), and the Phoenix at 2:00 p.m. on Saturday (Oct. 20). Entering the week, CSU leads the league with a 6-1 record after defeating Youngstown State in straight sets last weekend. Friday's contest against Milwaukee marks the first of five home matches out of the final seven contests for CSU.
THE OPPONENTS
MILWAUKEE enters Friday's contest with an 8-12 overall record and a 3-4 mark in league play. Last weekend the Panthers split their contests, defeating Wright State (3-1) and falling to Valparaiso (3-2). Julie Kolinske, who has a team-high 301 kills on the season, ranks third in the league averaging 3.91 per set, while Rachel Neuberger also ranks third averaging 1.16 blocks per set.
GREEN BAY currently stands at 11-10 overall this season and 2-5 in league play, and will face Youngstown State prior to Saturday's contest at Cleveland State. The Phoenix have won two out of their last three matches, including a league victory over Wright State. As a team, Green Bay leads the league averaging 2.31 blocks per set and 18.35 digs per set. Individually, Brittany Groth leads the league with 6.19 digs per set, while Katie Mroczenski ranks second with 1.23 blocks per set and Carmen Leitermann ranks third with a .312 hitting percentage.
CSU VS. THE OPPONENTS
Cleveland State earned victories over both the Panthers and the Phoenix earlier this season, sweeping Milwaukee and taking down Green Bay in four sets. The Vikings' win over Milwaukee marked the first since the 2009 season and snapped a 26-match Horizon League win-streak for the Panthers. Against Green Bay, CSU now holds a 31-14 overall record, and has won 15 straight matches against the Phoenix.
VIKINGS START SECOND HALF OF LEAGUE PLAY IN FIRST PLACE
CSU enters the second half of league play with a 6-1 record and in first place in the league standings. CSU's lone blemish on its league record comes as a 3-0 loss to Loyola, who the Vikings will face again on October 27. This marks the fourth time under head coach Chuck Voss that the Vikings have finished the first part of the league schedule with just one loss, also doing so during the 2011, 2009 and 2007 seasons.
ROBERTS LEADING HIGH-POWERED OFFENSE
In just her seventh start as CSU's primary setter, Dayna Roberts led a dominant Viking offense in the 3-0 sweep of Youngstown State last Friday. Cleveland State notched a season-best .410 hitting percentage (42-8-83), while Roberts posted 31 of 40 assists for the Vikings. In the past seven matches, Roberts has averaged 11.42 assists per set, while marking a career-high 61 at Valparaiso (Oct. 5).
KOCH NOW RANKS SECOND ON CAREER KILLS LIST
Following her 19th double-digit kill performance of the season, Kara Koch moved into second place on the CSU career kills list, entering the second half of league play with 1,424. Koch is one of just three Vikings to post at least 1,400 kills on their career, and enters the week with a team-high 348 kills on the season.
...AND CLOSING IN ON 1,000 CAREER DIGS
Koch, who has posted nine double-doubles on the season and 33 on her career, is also closing in on 1,000 career digs, entering the week with 911. With seven matches left in the regular season, Koch needs to average 14.1 digs per contest to reach the 1,000 dig milestone. She would become the fifth Viking all-time to tally both 1,000 kills and 1,000 digs on their career, joining Tenille Whiteside, Deirdre Laney, Michelle Iafigliola and Amy Ludwig.
FREASE CONTINUES TO MOVE UP NATIONAL CHARTS
Following a nine-kill performance and a .571 hitting percentage against YSU last weekend, Marie Frease climbed 18 spots to rank 62nd in this week's NCAA Statistics with a .352 hitting percentage on the season. Frease leads the Horizon League in the category, while she is also tops in league-only matches (.411). On the season, Frease is averaging 2.82 kills per set, and 3.33 per set in league matches.
CHASING THE RECORDS
Entering the second half of league play, three Vikings are in the top-10 on CSU career record lists, including senior Kara Koch who ranks in five categories. Koch ranks in the top-10 in Kills Per Set (2nd-3.71), Attack Attempts (2nd-3,919), Kills (2nd-1,424), Points Per Set (2nd-4.13) and Total Points (4th-1,586.5). Senior Marie Frease (3rd-.320) and junior Jackie Dabbelt (7th-.290) both rank in the top-10 in Hitting Percentage.
KOCH HOLDS STRONG IN NCAA STATISTICS
Entering the week Kara Koch ranks fourth in the Nation in kills per set, averaging 4.83. Koch, who has 348 total kills on the year, trails only Edina Begic of UALR (5.36), Tyler Henderson of Tulsa (5.31) and Lola Arslanbekova of Louisville (4.95). Koch is one of just two Horizon League players to rank in the top-25, joined by Anna Eytchison of Loyola who ranks 18th (4.35 kills per set).
VIKINGS NOTCH PROGRAM WIN #700
With the 3-0 victory over UIC (9/29) earlier this season, the Cleveland State volleyball team marked its 700th win in program history. To date, CSU has tallied 702 wins with 224 of them coming under head coach Chuck Voss' guidance. Cleveland State is the third Horizon League team to reach the 700-win mark, joining Milwaukee (996 wins) and Wright State (762).
VIKINGS PICK UP FOUR HORIZON LEAGUE WEEKLY AWARDS
Cleveland State has earned four weekly honors from the Horizon League so far this season, making the Vikings the only team with four weekly awards. 2012 Honorees: Kara Koch (Offensive POW-9/4 & 9/24), Marie Frease (Offensive POW-9/10) & Amanda Medvetz (Defensive POW-9/10).
UP NEXT
The Vikings will hit the road for the final time during Horizon League play next weekend, traveling to Chicago, Ill. for a pair of contests. CSU will first face UIC at 8:00 p.m. EST on Friday, October 26, and will then face Loyola at 4:00 p.m. EST on Saturday, October 27.
