LAWRENCE, Kan. – The Cleveland State volleyball team wrapped up its non-league slate Saturday afternoon, earning a 3-2 comeback victory over North Texas at the Jayhawk Classic. The Vikings finished the weekend with a 7-6 non-league record.
Sophomore Grace Kauth picked up All-Tournament Team honors, her first accolade of the season. For the weekend, Kauth recorded 30 kills and 40 digs, notching double-doubles against Kansas (11 kills, 12 digs) and North Texas (12 kills, 17 digs).
Set scores against North Texas were 22-25, 20-25, 25-21, 25-21, 15-11.
Against North Texas, the Vikings had three players record double-digit kills, led by Christina Toth who tallied 16 kills on a .406 hitting percentage (16-3-32). Grace Kauth added 12 kills for CSU, while Maggie Hannon added 11. Shannon Grega led the Viking defense with 19 digs, while Kauth added 17 and Roberts tallied 12. Roberts also notched 28 assists on the match, marking her fifth double-double of the season. Alexis Middlebrooks continued her excellent blocking performance against UNT, posting seven blocks for the fourth time this season.
After dropping the first two sets against North Texas, the Vikings stormed back to complete the five-set, comeback victory. Saturday marked the first five-set match of the season for the Vikings, and put CSU over .500 to start Horizon League play.
During the third set, the Vikings were down 10-7, but rattled off a 9-1 run to take over control of the frame and gain a five-point lead at the 16-11 mark. During this stretch CSU picked up points off of three Kauth kills, a Hannon service ace, and a Middlebrooks kill. The Vikings were then able to hold at least a two-point lead for the remainder of the frame, and put the set away with a block from Hannon and Aaliyah Slappy.
The fourth set was much of the same, as the Vikings had to battle back from an early deficit, gaining their first lead of the frame at the 15-12 mark following a Toth solo block and a UNT error. The Vikings held the advantage for the remainder of the frame then, earning the 25-21 victory on a Roberts kill.
During the fifth and final set Cleveland State was able to gain control of the frame early on and held the advantage for the entire frame. At the midway point of the set, the Vikings gained an 11-6 lead following a block from Middlebrooks and Slappy, and then held at least a three-point lead for the rest of the frame. To close out the set and the match, the Vikings posted back-to-back points on another Middlebrooks block – this time with Toth – and a Shannon Grega service ace.
The Vikings will now turn their attention to Horizon League play, as they are set to host Wright State and Oakland over the opening weekend of league action. CSU will face Wright State on Friday, Sept. 26 and Oakland on Saturday, Sept. 27.
2014 Jayhawk Classic All-Tournament Team
2014 Jayhawk Classic Final Results
Kansas, 3-0
Arkansas, 2-1
Cleveland State, 1-2
North Texas, 0-3
