DAYTON, Ohio - The Cleveland State volleyball team split two matches on the final day of the Dayton Flyer Invitational on Saturday. The Vikings earned a 3-1 win over Baylor in their first match of the day and fell to host Dayton, 3-0, on Saturday night.

CSU finished the Invitational with a 2-1 record, including a win over Eastern Illinois on Friday.

Cleveland State vs. Baylor

The Vikings opened the day with a 3-1 victory over Baylor, marking a win in their first-ever meeting with the Bears. Saturday morning's victory also improved Cleveland State to 8-2 overall this season.

Box Score | PDF Box Score

The Scores
20-25, 31-29, 27-25, 25-20

Match Stats
- Grace Kauth led the Viking offense with 23 kills – her second 20-kill match of the season.
- Christina Toth (17 kills) and Alexis Middlebrooks (12 kills) also posted double-digit kills for the Vikings.
- Four Vikings tallied double-digit digs against Baylor, led by Gina Kilner with 13.
- Aaliyah Slappy tied her career-high with eight blocks on the match, while Alexis Middlebrooks and Kilner each posted five blocks.

Match Notes
- For the second straight match CSU tallied at least 14 blocks as a team, ending right on the number against Baylor.
- Saturday's victory allowed the Vikings to snap Baylor's six-game winstreak.

The Match
After dropping the first set, Cleveland State rebounded with three straight victories in sets 2, 3, and 4. During the second frame, CSU was able to get out to a 17-10 lead and held a multi-point lead for the next few plays until Baylor closed the gap to just one point at 21-20. From here, the two teams traded points until the Vikings were finally able to notch two straight points on a Grace Kauth kill and a block from Alexis Middlebrooks and Christina Toth to put the set away at 31-29.

During the third set, Cleveland State had to battle from behind for the majority of the frame, until the Vikings finally tied the set at 24-24 on a Toth kill. The two teams then traded points once again, with extra points also needed to win the third frame, as CSU came away with a 27-25 win on another Kauth kill.

The two teams battled back and forth during the fourth and final set then, with CSU able to gain a seven-point advantage at the 22-15 mark following kills from Kauth and Sydney Mast and a Kauth, Aaliyah Slappy block. The Vikings were able to hold their lead for the remainder of the frame then, closing out the set for the 25-20 victory.

Cleveland State vs. Dayton

CSU concluded play in the tournament on Saturday night against the host school, Dayton. The Vikings fell to 8-3 overall this year.

Box Score | PDF Box Score

The Scores
25-16, 25-21, 27-25

Match Stats
- Christina Toth posted 15 kills and just one attack error in 27 chances for a .519 attack percentage.
- Alexis Middlebrooks added 10 kills and two blocks, while Grace Kauth tallied five kills and seven digs.
- Gina Kilner dished out 34 assists and led CSU to a .308 attack percentage for the match.
- Dayna Roberts had nine digs and Nikki Holmes added eight.

Match Notes
- While CSU hit at a .308 (40-8-104) clip for the match, Dayton finished with a .348 (52-13-112) attack percentage.
- CSU did not commit an attack error in the third set, hitting .486 (18-0-37) as a team.
- Toth was named to the all-tournament team. 

The Match
Dayton scored five of the first six points in the first set in jumping out to a 1-0 lead. The teams traded points early in the second set before the Flyers rattled off six straight points to break a 5-5 tie and take an 11-5 lead. The Vikings battled back and pulled within one point (19-18) on a Kauth service ace, but Dayton responded with three straight points to regain a four-point lead (23-18) and hold on to win the second set.

The third set saw Dayton take an early 7-4 lead, but the Vikings scored four straight to knot the set at 7-7. The teams continued to trade points and back-to-back kills by Kauth gave the Vikings a 19-17 lead. But the Flyers came back to knot the set at 20-20 and the teams traded points until kills by Dayton's Alaina Turner and Angel Agu ended the match.

Complete Tournament Results
Cleveland State 3, Eastern Illinois 2
Baylor 3, Dayton 2
Cleveland State 3, Baylor 1
Dayton 3, Eastern Illinois 1
Baylor 3, Eastern Illinois 1
Dayton 3, Cleveland State 0 

Up Next
Cleveland State at Blue/Gold Invitational – vs. Radford, Robert Morris, Toledo – Sept. 18 - 19