MURFREESBORO, Tenn. – The Cleveland State volleyball team opened up the 2015 season Friday, picking up a pair of victories over Middle Tennessee (3-0) and Indiana (3-2) at the Blue Raider Bash. The Vikings, who are 2-0 on the young season, will close out their first tournament of the season with matches against Notre Dame and Bowling Green tomorrow (Saturday, August 29).
CLEVELAND STATE VS. MIDDLE TENNESSEE
Box Score | PDF Box Score
The Vikings were able to pick up a quick 3-0 victory during their first match of the Blue Raider Bash, earning a straight-set win over the host Blue Raiders.
The Scores
25-16, 25-23, 15-14
Match Stats
- Christina Toth (12 kills) and Grace Kauth (10 kills) led the offensive attack for the Vikings
- Gina Kilner recorded 30 assists as Cleveland State's primary setter
- Dayna Roberts tallied a team-high 12 digs as the Vikings' libero
- Aaliyah Slappy posted a team-best five blocks, while Christina Toth added four – including two solo blocks
Match Notes
- The Vikings have now won 10 season openers under Chuck Voss
- Rachael Dohar (3 digs, 1 ace) and Rachel Stover (4 kills, 3 blocks) made their collegiate debuts against Middle Tennessee
The Match
During the opening set the Vikings got out to an early 6-3 lead, and then held the advantage for the remainder of the frame. Cleveland State was able to gain an eight-point advantage at the 22-14 mark following a 5-0 CSU run – which included kills from Toth and Stover and three Middle Tennessee errors. The Vikings were then able to close out the frame with back-to-back kills from Aaliyah Slappy and Alexis Middlebrooks for the 25-16 first set victory.
Cleveland State played from behind during the first half of the second frame, until a 6-1 Viking run tied the contest at 19-19. During this run CSU got points off of kills from Toth, Kauth, and Slappy and a pair of Blue Raider errors. The Vikings were finally able to take their first lead of the set at 21-20, following kills from Stover and Middlebrooks, and went on to close out the frame with four of the last seven points.
The Vikings then rolled to a 25-14 victory during the third set, picking up the 3-0 win.
CLEVELAND STATE VS. INDIANA
Box Score | PDF Box Score
The Vikings kept their record perfect on the season after picking up a 3-2 victory in their second match of the Blue Raider Bash. Cleveland State was the only team to go 2-0 on the first day of the tournament.
The Scores
25-21, 22-25, 21-25, 25-21, 15-13
Match Stats
- Three Vikings tallied double-digit kills against Indiana – Christina Toth (17), Alexis Middlebrooks (14), Grace Kauth (12)
- Middlebrooks tallied a career-high with her 14 kills and posted a career-best nine blocks
- Dayna Roberts recorded a team-high 16 digs
- As a team, Cleveland State combined for 14.5 blocks – with four players posting four or more blocks (Middlebrooks, Kauth, Rachel Stover, Aaliyah Slappy)
Match Notes
- The Vikings have now gone 2-0 to open the season seven times under Chuck Voss
The Match
Despite picking up a 25-21 victory in the first set, the Vikings quickly found themselves in a 2-1 deficit after Indiana was able to come away with wins in the second and third sets. Cleveland State rebounded though, battling for a pair of close wins in the fourth and fifth sets to pull out the five-set win over the Hoosiers.
During the fourth set the Vikings were able to control play throughout the majority of the frame – even holding an eight-point advantage at the 17-9 mark. Indiana wouldn't go quietly though, as the Hoosiers made things interesting after coming back to within one point at 22-21 following a 12-5 run. The Vikings quickly stopped the Indiana run, and closed out the set with the next three points on a Middlebrooks kill, Kauth service ace and a Hoosier error.
The two teams battled throughout the fifth and final set then, with CSU gaining the largest advantage of three points at the 10-7 mark following a Toth kill. Despite the three-point lead, CSU still had to battle to pick up the final five points, as they were finally able to close out the frame with a Kauth kill for the 15-13 victory.
Up Next
- Cleveland State vs. Notre Dame – Saturday, August 29 – 3:00 p.m. EST – Blue Raider Bash
- Cleveland State vs. Bowling Green – Saturday, August 29 – 8:30 p.m. EST – Blue Raider Bash
- Live Stats for both matches are available on CSUVikings.com
