CLEVELAND, Ohio – The Cleveland State volleyball team started the final week of regular season play with a win Tuesday evening, picking up a 3-0 victory over Northern Kentucky. The win improves CSU to 23-5 overall this season and 12-2 in Horizon League play.
The Scores
25-17, 25-19, 25-20
Match Stats
· The trio of Alexis Middlebrooks, Christina Toth, and Grace Kauth once again led the Viking offense, combining for 36 of Cleveland State's 52 kills.
· Alexis Middlebrooks recorded a match-high 14 kills on a .458 hitting percentage (14-3-24), while Christina Toth added 12 and Grace Kauth notched 10 kills.
· Rachel Stover added nine kills from the Vikings on a career-high .900 hitting percentage (9-0-10).
· Dayna Roberts posted 14 digs to lead the Viking defense, while Nikki Holmes added 10 digs.
· Gina Kilner notched 40 assists on the match.
· Alexis Middlebrooks recorded a team-high five blocks.
Match Notes
· The win makes CSU the only Horizon League team with 12 wins in league play this year – while the Vikings hold onto their first place standing.
· Grace Kauth is now just 19 kills shy of 1,000 for her career – ending the match with 981.
· Cleveland State's 23 wins so far this season marks the third highest win total over the past 30 years.
The Match
Cleveland State was able to control play from the start of the match, jumping out to a 10-5 lead following a Christina Toth kill during the opening set. The Vikings then held a sizeable advantage for the remainder of the set, as they closed out the opening frame on a Grace Kauth kill.
The second set was much tighter at the beginning, as both teams traded points until midway through when Cleveland State gained a four-point lead at the 18-14 mark following back-to-back kills from Gina Kilner and Toth. The Vikings then held at least a three point lead for the rest of the frame, and picked up the 2-0 match lead with a pair of kills from Middlebrooks.
During the third and final frame Cleveland State was once again able to gain the advantage early on, and extended its lead to 15-10 following another Middlebrooks kill. Although Northern Kentucky made a push late in the frame, the Vikings were able to control play throughout the remainder of the set and put the match away by picking up three of the final four points on kills from Middlebrooks and Kilner.
Up Next
The Vikings will close out the regular season on the road this weekend, traveling to UIC (Friday, Nov. 13) and Valparaiso (Saturday, Nov. 14).
