WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – The Cleveland State volleyball team used a late rally to pick up its first victory of the 2017 season Saturday afternoon, as the Vikings came from behind to pick up a 3-2 victory over Oral Roberts to close out the Purdue Mortar Board Invitational. The Vikings are now 1-2 on the season after the first weekend of play.
Cleveland State vs. Oral Roberts Box Score
All-Tournament Team
· Alexis Middlebrooks was named to the Purdue Mortar Board Invitational All-Tournament Team, after posting 40 kills on a .337 hitting percentage along with 12 total blocks on the weekend. Middlebrooks tallied a career-high tying 20 kills against Alabama in the season opener, and finished the weekend with 12 kills and six blocks against Oral Roberts.
Match Stats
· Trinniti Hall led three Vikings in double-figure kills, posting 22, while Rachel Stover added 14 and Alexis Middlebrooks posted 12.
· Gina Kilner posted 57 assists on the match, and was just shy of a double-double with nine digs.
· Shannon Grega led the Viking defense with 22 digs, while Emily DeGeorge added 14 and Jordan Verbiak tallied 13 digs.
· Alexis Middlebrooks tallied a team-high six blocks, while Gina Kilner recorded five blocks, and Rachel Stover and Mariah Carrero-Johnson each added four blocks.
· Jordan Verbiak tallied three service aces against Oral Roberts, while Shannon Grega added one ace.
Match Notes
· Trinniti Hall's 22 kills against Oral Roberts marked her second double-digit kill match on the weekend, and set a career-high for the sophomore.
· Rachel Stover recorded a career-best with her 14 kills, while she was just shy of tying her career-high with the four blocks.
· As a team, the Vikings posted 11 blocks on the match – the first double-digit block match of the year.
· Cleveland State recorded 67 total kills against Oral Roberts, and posted a .301 hitting percentage.
· Cleveland State has now played two five-set matches out of the first three contests of the season, and stand at 1-1 in five-set matches on the year.
· Saturday's contest marked the first meeting between Oral Roberts and Cleveland State.
The Match
After dropping the first two sets the Vikings rebounded during frame three, battling their way to a 25-23 set victory. During the third set Cleveland State fell behind early, but after a block from Alexis Middlebrooks and Gina Kilner and a solo block from Middlebrooks, the Vikings were able to gain a 4-3 advantage after the first seven points of the frame. Oral Roberts responded with three straight points to regain the lead though, and Cleveland State would then have to play from behind for a large part of the frame.
The Vikings were finally able to take control of the set over the last eight points, when the Vikings turned a two-point deficit at 21-19 into a two-point lead at 23-21 after a pair of Oral Roberts errors and a Rachel Stover kill and a service ace from Jordan Verbiak. Cleveland State then closed out the frame with a Sara Skeens kill and another block from Middlebrooks and Kilner.
Cleveland State continued its momentum in set four then, as the Vikings picked up a 25-19 victory. To open the frame, Cleveland State posted five straight points – and seven of the first nine points – and held onto this advantage for the entire set.
Midway through the frame, the Vikings held a 19-10 advantage after going on a 5-0 run that included four kills from Trinniti Hall and a block by Mariah Carrero-Johnson and Hall. The Vikings then extended their lead to 21-11 following an ORU error and another Hall kill. Despite a late Oral Roberts push, the Vikings were able to hold on for a 25-19 set victory, forcing a fifth a deciding set.
The Vikings were once again able to get out to a strong start to open the fifth frame, posting three straight points on kills from Middlebrooks and Hall and a block by Carrero-Johnson and Kilner. Cleveland State would go on to hold the advantage for the rest of the frame then, and closed out the set with four of the final six points to pick up its first victory of the 2017 season.
CSU Career Record Book Notes
· With her 57 assists against Oral Roberts, Gina Kilner became just the sixth Viking all-time with 3,300 career helpers, and moved into fifth place with 3,332 assists on her career.
· Alexis Middlebrooks moved up the top-10 list in total blocks following Saturday's match, moving into eighth place with 358 total career blocks after posting six against Oral Roberts.
· Shannon Grega continued to close in on 1,000 career digs, ending the weekend with 997 total digs after notching 22 on Saturday.
Up Next
· Cleveland State will travel East for a trio of matches against Fordham (Friday, September 1), Binghamton (Saturday, September 2) and Marist (Saturday, September 2).
Purdue Mortar Board Invitational Results
No. 25 Purdue 3, Oral Roberts 0
No. 25 Purdue 3, Cleveland State 0
No. 25 Purdue 3, Alabama 0
Alabama 3, Cleveland State 2
Alabama 3, Oral Roberts 0
Cleveland State 3, Oral Roberts 2
