PHILADELPHIA, Pa. – The Cleveland State volleyball team captured its second tournament title of the season Saturday afternoon, as the Vikings picked up wins over Rutgers (3-0) and New Hampshire (3-1) to capture the Cherry & White Challenge title. The Vikings, who now stand at 7-2 this season, earned a victory over host Temple last night to post a perfect 3-0 record on the weekend.
All-Tournament Team
Grace Kauth was named the Cherry & White Challenge MVP, while Gina Kilner and Aaliyah Slappy both earned All-Tournament Team honors.
Kauth led the Vikings with 51 total kills this weekend and 31 total digs, posting double-doubles against Temple (23 kills and 11 digs) and New Hampshire (16 kills and 16 digs).
Kilner led the Viking offense on the weekend, posting 134 total assists, helping Cleveland State post 171 total kills on a .280 hitting percentage. Kilner also added 18 kills, 23 digs and six blocks.
Slappy finished the weekend with 20 kills and a team-best 15 total blocks – including an eight-block match against New Hampshire.
CLEVELAND STATE 3, RUTGERS 0
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Match Stats
· Grace Kauth and Sara Skeens led the Viking offense, Kauth with a team-best 12 kills and Skeens with 11 kills.
· Shannon Grega had a team-high nine digs, while Gina Kilner added six.
· Aaliyah Slappy and Sara Skeens both recorded three blocks on the match, with Alexis Middlebrooks adding two blocks.
Match Notes
· With four digs against Rutgers, Grace Kauth eclipsed the 1,000-dig mark for her career, becoming the 17th Viking all-time to reach the milestone.
· Aaliyah Slappy recorded her 250th career block in the match, finishing the contest right on the number.
· With the win, head coach Chuck Voss now has 297 career wins, just three wins shy of recording his 300th win at Cleveland State.
· The Vikings are now 2-1 against teams from 'Power Five' conferences this season and 5-1 over the past two years.
CLEVELAND STATE 3, NEW HAMPSHIRE 1
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Match Stats
· A trio of Vikings finished the match with double-digit kills, Grace Kauth notching 16, Alexis Middlebrooks posting 11 and Aaliyah Slappy recording 10 kills.
· Gina Kilner tallied 49 assists on the match, helping Cleveland State post a .265 hitting percentage.
· Grace Kauth led the Vikings with 16 digs, while Gina Kilner and Jordan Verbiak both posted 12 digs.
· Aaliyah Slappy posted a team-best eight blocks, while Alexis Middlebrooks added four and Gina Kilner notched three.
· As a team, Cleveland State recorded 14.0 total blocks.
· Freshman Trinniti Hall finished the match with four kills and two blocks, while classmate Sara Skeens posted seven kills and two blocks.
Match Notes
· With her 16-kill performance against UNH, Grace Kauth cracked the top-10 kills list in the CSU Career Record book, as she finished the match ranked 10th with 1,177 career kills.
· Head coach Chuck Voss finished the match with 298 career victories at Cleveland State, needing just two more wins to reach the 300-win milestone.
· For the second time this season, Gina Kilner was just shy of recording a triple-double, finishing the match with nine kills, 48 assists and 12 digs.
· Freshman Jordan Verbiak notched her second double-digit dig match of the season with 12 digs against UNH.
UP NEXT
Cleveland State will close out the non-league portion of its schedule next weekend, taking part in the Hoosier Classic. The Vikings will face IUPUI, Arkansas State and host Indiana.
