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MATCH #25
Wright State (2-25, 0-10 HL) at Cleveland State (18-6, 10-1 HL)
Friday, Nov. 2, 2012
7:00 p.m.
Woodling Gymnasium
MATCH #26
Valparaiso (16-10, 7-3 HL) at Cleveland State
Saturday, Nov. 3, 2012
4:00 p.m.
Woodling Gymnasium
QUICK SETS
Cleveland State (18-6, 10-1) will close out the regular season with a three-match homestand, beginning with two contests this weekend. The Vikings will first host Wright State at 7:00 p.m. on Friday (Nov. 2), before hosting Valparaiso at 4:00 p.m. on Saturday (Nov. 3). Saturday's contest against the Crusaders will serve as senior day, as the Vikings honor the graduating class of 2012. After marking two wins last weekend, CSU has a strong hold on first place in the league standings, with Valparaiso sitting second with a 7-3 record.
THE OPPONENTS
WRIGHT STATE (2-25, 0-10) enters Friday's match still trying for its first league win of the season. The Raiders, who are currently on a 10-match losing skid, last won on September 18 against Chicago State. Offensively the Raiders have been led by Heidi Splinter (320 kills) and Marisa Aiello (218 kills) this season, while Katie Glassmeyer (417 digs) and Splinter (306 digs) have led the defensive efforts.
VALPARAISO (16-10, 7-3) enters the weekend currently in second place in the league standings, chasing the Vikings for the top spot. The Crusaders have won three straight matches and six of their last seven, defeating Wright State the last time out. As a team, Valparaiso ranks third in the league averging 18.04 digs per set, while Taylor Root is also second in the individual category averaging 5.68 digs per set.
CSU VS. THE OPPONENTS
Cleveland State picked up wins over both Wright State (3-0) and Valparaiso (3-2) earlier this season. The Vikings have won nine straight against WSU and 11 of the last 13 dating back to the 2007 season, while CSU has won seven of the last eight contests against Valparaiso dating back to the 2008 Horizon League Tournament.
WINCHESTER TIES CAREER-HIGH AT UIC
Kerry Winchester recorded 16 kills against UIC last Friday, tying her career-high that she set earlier this season at Valparaiso (10/5). Winchester's 16 kills came on 29 attempts with just four errors for a .414 hitting percentage. Last friday marked the sixth time this season that she has notched double-digit kills and the 10th time in her career.
DABBELT HAS STRONG WEEKEND IN CHICAGO
Jackie Dabbelt had one of her best weekends of the season in Chicago last week, posting double-digit kills in back-to-back matches. Dabbelt recorded 11 kills against UIC on a .233 hitting percentage and came back with 13 kills against Loyola on a .444 hitting percentage. This marked just the second time this season that Dabbelt has recorded double-digit kills in back-to-back matches, also doing so against Murray State (8/25) and Eastern Michigan (8/28).
MEDVETZ POSTS CAREER-HIGH AGAINST UIC
Amanda Medvetz posted a career-high 34 digs against UIC last weekend, marking the second-highest four-set total among league players this season. Friday's contest marked just the second time this year that Medvetz has tallied at least 30 digs and the fifth time that she has had 20-plus digs.
KOCH NAMED OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Kara Koch picked up her third weekly award from the Horizon League on Monday (Oct. 29), earning Offensive Player of the Week honors. Against UIC, Koch posted 23 kills, her ninth 20-kill match of the season, along with 18 digs and two assists. The following night she posted 12 kills and 11 digs against Loyola, to mark her 11th and 12th double-doubles of the season. On the weekend, Koch combined for 35 kills (4.38 per set) and 29 digs (3.62 per set).
LEAGUE STANDINGS HEADING INTO FINAL WEEKS
Heading into the last two weeks of the regular season, Cleveland State has a strong hold on the top spot in the league standings with a 10-1 record. CSU's lone blemish on its league record so far this season came as a 3-0 loss to Loyola (9/28) earlier this season. This marks the first time under head coach Chuck Voss that the Vikings will enter the last two weeks of the regular season with just one loss on their league record.
KOCH REACHES 4,000 CAREER ATTACK ATTEMPTS
Kara Koch became the first Viking to record 4,000 career attack attempts last weekend, notching 111 in the two victories over UIC and Loyola. Koch, who enters the week with 4,093 attempts, became the CSU record holder in the category last week, surpassing Tenille Whiteside (1993-96) who notched 3,960 attempts during her career. Koch also cracked the top-10 all-time list in Horizon League history this weekend, currently ranking ninth in career attack attempts.
KOCH RANKS SECOND ON CAREER KILLS LIST
Following a 35-kill weekend, Kara Koch remains in second place on the CSU career kills list, entering the week with 1,480. 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 404 kills on the season. She currently sits behind Jamie Bouyer (2001-04) who tallied a CSU record, 1,626 kills during her career.
...AND CLOSING IN ON 1,000 CAREER DIGS
Koch, who has now posted 12 double-doubles on the season and 36 on her career, is also closing in on 1,000 career digs, entering the week with 966. With three matches left in the regular season, Koch needs to average 11.3 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.
CHASING THE RECORDS
Entering the week, 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 Attack Attempts (1st-4,093), Kills Per Set (2nd-3.72), Kills (2nd-1,480), Points Per Set (2nd-4.13) and Total Points (2nd-1,645). Senior Marie Frease (3rd-.322) and junior Jackie Dabbelt (7th-.289) both rank in the top-10 in Hitting Percentage.
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 705 wins with 227 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 FIVE HORIZON LEAGUE WEEKLY AWARDS
Cleveland State has earned five weekly honors from the Horizon League so far this season. 2012 Honorees: Kara Koch (Offensive POW-9/4 , 9/24 & 10/29), Marie Frease (Offensive POW-9/10) & Amanda Medvetz (Defensive POW-9/10).
UP NEXT
The Vikings will close out the regular season next Thursday (Nov. 8), as they host the Youngstown State Penguins at 7:00 p.m. Thursday's contest will be the final match of the season for both teams before beginning Horizon League Tournament play.
