VALPARAISO, Ind. – The Cleveland State volleyball team extended its winstreak to three matches Saturday evening, picking up a 3-1 victory at Valparaiso. With the win, the Vikings (12-4, 3-1 HL) now own a perfect 3-0 record on the road in league play this season.
PDF BOX SCORE | HTML BOX SCORE
Match Stats
· Grace Kauth led the Vikings with 16 kills, while Sara Skeens added 11 kills.
· Gina Kilner recorded 41 assists on the match.
· Five Vikings finished the match with double-digit digs, led by libero Shannon Grega with 17 digs.
· Gina Kilner added 12 digs, while Rachael Dohar, Grace Kauth, and Jordan Verbiak all added 10 digs.
· Grace Kauth tallied a team-best six blocks against Valparaiso, while Aaliyah Slappy added five and Alexis Middlebrooks posted four blocks.
· Shannon Grega notched three service aces on the day, while Rachael Dohar added two service aces.
Match Notes
· With her 16 kills, Grace Kauth eclipsed the 1,250-kill mark for her career, finishing the match with 1,265 kills.
· Grace Kauth and Gina Kilner both posted double-doubles on the match, Kauth marking her 10th of the season and Kilner notching her sixth.
· After posting four block assists on the match, Alexis Middlebrooks now ranks ninth in the CSU Career Record book with 256 career block assists.
· Cleveland State now owns a perfect 3-0 record on the road in Horizon League matches.
The Match
During the opening set, the Vikings had to battle for every point they earned, and had to come-from-behind to clinch the 25-23 first set victory. After falling into a six-point deficit at the 15-9 mark during the opening frame, the Vikings went on an 8-2 run to tie the frame at 17-17 on a Crusader error and stayed within one point of Valparaiso until they were able to gain a 22-21 lead following an Alexis Middlebrooks kill. The two teams then traded points over the next few plays, until Cleveland State rattled off three straight points to capture the frame. Cleveland State's final three points came from a Grace Kauth kill and a pair of blocks, which both included Middlebrooks.
Although Valparaiso was able to tie the match with a second set victory, Cleveland State came out strong during the third frame, earning a 21-16 lead midway through following three straight Crusader errors. The Vikings were then able to hold a sizeable lead for the rest of the frame, and picked up the 25-18 set victory on an Aaliyah Slappy kill.
The fourth set was much of the same to begin with, as Cleveland State jumped out to a 16-8 advantage after posting a 7-0 run against Valparaiso. The Crusaders wouldn't back down easily though, as the Vikings had to fend off a 12-6 run to regain control of the frame at 23-20 following a Sydney Mast kill. Cleveland State was then able to put the contest away at 25-21 after forcing Valparaiso into a pair of errors over the final two points.
Up Next
· Cleveland State vs. Milwaukee – Friday, October 7 – 7:00 p.m. – Woodling Gymnasium
