CLEVELAND, Ohio – Despite a balanced offensive attack and defensive performance, the Cleveland State volleyball team dropped its first Horizon League contest of the season Saturday evening, falling to the Oakland Golden Grizzlies, 3-2. The Vikings now stand at 8-7 overall this season and 1-1 in league play.
Set scores against Oakland were 25-20, 21-25, 10-25, 25-21, 19-17.
The Viking offense was led by the trio of Maggie Hannon, Christina Toth, and Ally Beck who all notched double-digit kill performances. Hannon had a match-high 15 kills, while Toth posted 12 and Beck added 10. The CSU defense was led by Nikki Holmes who tallied 25 digs, while Grace Kauth added a career-high 22 digs and Beck notched her second double-double of the season with 16 digs.
Gina Kilner recorded 22 assists against Oakland, while Dayna Roberts notched a double-double with 18 assists and 11 digs. Hannon and Toth each posted a team-high seven blocks, while Alexis Middlebrooks notched six blocks.
After dropping the opening set, the Vikings rebounded to win the second frame to even the match at 1-1. The two teams traded points at the beginning of the frame, but the Vikings were able to distance themselves at the 15-9 mark after knocking off three straight points on a pair of kills from Beck and Toth and an Oakland error. Two plays later the Vikings once again extended their lead, posting a 3-0 run to gain a seven-point advantage at 18-11. CSU controlled play for the remainder of the frame then, closing out the frame with a Toth kill.
The Vikings carried this momentum into the third set, cruising to a 25-10 victory. CSU was able to gain an 11-point advantage at 17-6 after posting five straight points and then extended their lead to 22-8 seven plays later. CSU once again put the frame away with a Toth kill, earning a 2-1 advantage in the match.
Oakland was able to even the match during the fourth set, forcing a fifth and final frame. During the fifth set, Oakland was able to gain an early lead, but the Vikings rebounded and posted a four-point run to gain a 9-7 advantage following kills from Kauth and Toth. CSU was able to hold the advantage until Oakland tied the frame at 13-13 – the first of five ties in the remaining 10 plays. After the two teams traded points over the next few plays, Oakland was finally able to post back-to-back points, earning the 19-17 victory.
As a team, the Vikings posted 58 kills and a season-high 90 digs against Oakland, and recording 13 total team blocks.
The Vikings will continue Horizon League play on the road next weekend, traveling to UIC (Friday, Oct. 3) and Valparaiso (Saturday, Oct. 4).
