MATCHES #4-6
ROSE HILL CLASSIC/VOLLEY IN THE VALLEY | BRONX, N.Y./POUGHKEEPSIE, N.Y.
@ Fordham | Friday, September 1 | 2:00 p.m.
Live Stats | Live Video
vs. Binghamton | Saturday, September 2 | 11:00 a.m.
Live Stats
@ Marist | Saturday, September 2 | 3:00 p.m.
Live Stats | Live Video
ROSE HILL CLASSIC/VOLLEY IN THE VALLEY MATCH NOTES
QUICK SETS
The Cleveland State volleyball team will continue the 2017 season this weekend, traveling East for the Rose Hill Classic/Volley In The Valley Tournament. The Vikings will open the weekend at Fordham on Friday, September 1 (2:00 p.m.), and will then travel to Marist to face Binghamton (11:00 a.m.) and the host Red Foxes (3:00 p.m.) on Saturday, September 2. Entering the weekend, the Vikings own a 1-2 record.
ROSE HILL CLASSIC/VOLLEY IN THE VALLEY FIELD
Fordham | The Rams enter the weekend with a perfect 4-0 record on the season, aftering bringing home the New Orleans Tournament title with wins over Southeast Missouri State, New Orleans and Alcorn State last weekend, and picking up a 3-0 sweep over Manhattan last time out.
Binghamton | The Bearcats enter the weekend with a 1-2 record on the season after opening the year at the UNLV Invitational. Binghamton's lone win on the weekend came in a three-set sweep over UC Davis, while the Bearcats dropped matches against UNLV and Eastern Washington.
Marist | The Red Foxes currently own a 2-1 record on the young season after opening 2017 at the Lehigh Fall Classic. Marist picked up wins against Lehigh and Coppin State, and fell to Radford during the first weekend of the year.
VIKINGS TABBED HORIZON LEAGUE PRESEASON FAVORITES
Earlier this season the Vikings were selected to repeat as Horizon League Champions, as they were tabbed the Horizon League Preseason favorite, picking up 81 points and four first place votes in the league's preseason poll. The Vikings are two-time defending Horizon League Champions, and were named the preseason favorite for the second straight season.
POSTSEASON HONOREES RETURN
The 2017 Vikings will be led by seniors Gina Kilner and Alexis Middlebrooks, and sophomore Sara Skeens - a trio that earned postseason honors from the Horizon League last year. Kilner, who was named the Horizon League Setter of the Year, finished the season averaging 10.61 assists per set, and helped the team to a .250 hitting percentage on the year. Middlebrooks, who earned a spot on the All-League First Team for the second straight season, finished the year ranked second on the team averaging 2.75 kills per set on a .321 hitting percentage. Skeens was named the Horizon League Co-Freshman of the Year after finishing her rookie campaign averaging 2.51 kills per set to rank third on the team.
ROAD WARRIORS
During the 2017 season the Vikings will play their entire non-league slate away from home, and will play their first 13 matches - including two league contests - on the road. During this stretch the Vikings will travel to six different states and will cover over 3,400 miles. Over the last three seasons, Cleveland State has had success playing away from the friendly confines of Woodling Gymnasium, owning a 30-11 record in true road and neutral site matches.
MIDDLEBROOKS NAMED TO ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM
After pacing the Vikings throughout the first weekend of the 2017 season, senior Alexis Middlebrooks was named to the Purdue Mortar Board Invitational All-Tournament Team. For the weekend, Middlebrooks recorded 40 kills on a .337 hitting percentage, along with 12 total blocks. In the season opener against Alabama, Middlebrooks tied her career-high with 20 kills, while she finished the weekend with 12 kills and six blocks against Oral Roberts.
…MIDDLEBROOKS MOVES UP CAREER RECORD BOOK
With her 12 total blocks that she recorded last weekend, Alexis Middlebrooks moved up the CSU Career Record Book, currently sitting eighth with 358 total career blocks. Middlebrooks, who is one of just 10 Vikings all-time to eclipse the 350-total block mark, leads the Vikings averaging 0.92 blocks per set this season. Middlebrooks is now 13 blocks shy of moving into seventh place on the list.
GREGA CLOSING IN ON 1,000 CAREER DIGS
Senior Shannon Grega enters the weekend with 997 career digs - just three digs shy of reaching 1,000 for her career. Grega, who averaged 4.08 digs per set as Cleveland State's libero last weekend, would become the 18th Viking all-time to join the 1,000-dig club. During the opening weekend of play, Grega tallied a pair of 20-dig matches, notching 22 against Oral Roberts and 20 against Alabama.
HALL LEADS VIKING OFFENSE
After moving into the starting rotation as a sophomore this season, Trinniti Hall led the Viking offense throughout the Purdue Mortar Board Invitational, averaging a team-best 3.62 kills per set during the two-day tournament. Hall, who set a career-high with 22 kills against Oral Roberts in the weekend finale, also posted 17 kills against Alabama and eight against Purdue. As a freshman, Hall recorded 30 total kills in limited action, and has notched 47 kills through three matches so far this season.
DeGEORGE NOTCHES DOUBLE-DOUBLE IN COLLEGIATE DEBUT
Freshman Emily DeGeorge had a strong outing in her collegiate debut last weekend, posting a double-double in her first match as a Viking. DeGeorge tallied 13 kills and 18 digs against Alabama in the season opener, and was one of three Vikings to tally double-digit kills and one of three Vikings to record double-digit digs against the Crimson Tide. So far this season, DeGeorge is one of two Vikings to tally a double-double, and is averaging 2.69 digs per set and 1.46 kills per set.
KILNER IN THE RECORD BOOK
Senior Gina Kilner moved up the assists list in the CSU Career Record Book last weekend, finishing the Purdue Mortar Board Invitational ranked fifth with 3,332 career helpers. Kilner, who averaged 10.23 assists per set over the weekend, became just the fifth Viking all-time to record 3,325 career assists, and is now just 175 assists shy of reaching the 3,500-assist plateau.
HEAD COACH CHUCK VOSS
Chuck Voss is in his 18th season at the helm of the Vikings, and owns a 316-197 (.615) overall record at CSU. Under Voss the Vikings have recorded 14 winning seasons, including eight straight entering the 2017 season. Cleveland State has eclipsed the 20-win mark seven times since Voss took over the program, and has captured Horizon League Tournament titles four times (2007, 2012, 2015 & 2016) under his guidance. Last season Voss became the all-time winningest coach in program history while also eclipsing the 300-win mark for his Cleveland State career - becoming the only active Horizon League coach to achieve the feat at their current school.
A LOOK BACK AT 2016
Last season Cleveland State captured its fourth Horizon League Regular Season and Tournament title, finishing the year with a 25-6 overall record. Cleveland State's 25 wins marked the program's 16th 20-win season, while it also marked the third time under Voss that the Vikings have reached the 25-win plateau. After claiming the Horizon League Tournament title, the Vikings earned a trip to the NCAA Tournament for the fourth time over the last nine seasons, earning a neutral site match against Arizona in the opening round.
UP NEXT
The Vikings will continue their non-league slate at the Chippewa Challenge next weekend, facing the host Central Michigan at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, September 8 and Indiana State at 2:30 p.m. on Saturday, September 9.
