YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – The Cleveland State volleyball team wrapped up the regular season with a victory Friday evening, posting a 3-1 win at Youngstown State. With the win, the Vikings end the regular season with a 14-13 overall record and a 7-7 mark in Horizon League action – and on a three-match win streak heading into the Horizon League Tournament.
Set scores against Youngstown State were 21-25, 25-11, 26-24, 25-17.
Grace Kauth led the Vikings with her ninth double-double of the season – 26 kills and 11 digs – while Christina Toth also tallied double-digit kills with 11. Gina Kilner posted 43 assists, along with five kills, seven digs, and two service aces. Shannon Grega and Dayna Roberts both tallied 13 digs for the Vikings, while Ally Beck added 11. Alexis Middlebrooks was just shy of her career-high, posting a team-best seven blocks.
After dropping the first set, Cleveland State stormed back to pick up a 25-11 victory during the second frame. With a 6-0 run during the middle of the frame, the Vikings were able to gain a 12-5 advantage, and held at least a four-point lead for the remainder of the set. At the end of the frame, CSU was able to notch 10 straight points, with four of those points coming from Maggie Hannon service aces – a career-high for the senior.
The third set was an even matchup throughout the entire frame, with both teams staying within two points of each other throughout the set. After holding off a YSU set-point with a block from Toth and Middlebrooks, the Vikings were able to put the set away with a YSU error and a Toth kill, picking up the 26-24 set victory.
The fourth and final set was much easier for the Vikings, as they were able to get out to an early 9-4 lead, and hold the advantage for the remainder of the set. Midway through, CSU extended its lead to 18-10 following a Toth kill, and then went on to close the frame with three-straight points – including another Toth kill and a block from Middlebrooks and Katie Mihalik.
The Vikings held YSU to a .076 hitting percentage on the match, while CSU notched 55 kills on a .219 clip. For the 10th time this season CSU was able to post double-digit team blocks, recorded 11 on the match – with five players notching multiple blocks.
Next up for the Vikings will be the 2014 Horizon League Tournament, which will run from Friday, November 21 through Sunday, November 23 and will be hosted by Oakland.
