BRONX, N.Y. – After storming back in the third set, the Cleveland State volleyball team picked up its second straight victory Friday afternoon, posting a 3-0 sweep at Fordham. The win puts the Vikings at .500 for the season, as they now stand at 2-2 heading into tomorrow's doubleheader.
Cleveland State vs. Fordham Box Score
Match Stats
· Alexis Middlebrooks (14 kills) and Mariah Carrero-Johnson (11 kills) led the Viking offense, while Trinniti Hall added six kills and Emily DeGeorge added five.
· Gina Kilner recorded 35 assists against Fordham.
· Shannon Grega tallied a team-high 16 digs on the match, while Emily DeGeorge added 12 digs and Gina Kilner posted nine digs.
· Mariah Carrero-Johnson tallied three blocks against the Rams, while Alexis Middlebrooks and Katie Mihalik both added two each.
Match Notes
· Mariah Carrero-Johnson set a career-high with her 11 kills.
· Alexis Middlebrooks has now tallied double-digit kills in three of the first four matches of the season.
· This was just the second meeting between the two teams, with Cleveland State owning a perfect 2-0 record in the series.
1,000 Career Digs
· With her 16 digs that she recorded at Fordham, senior libero Shannon Grega eclipsed the 1,000-dig mark for her career, becoming the 18th Viking all-time to achieve the feat. Grega finished the match with 1,013 career digs.
The Match
During the opening set both teams traded points throughout the first part of the frame, until Cleveland State gained a six-point lead at the 12-6 mark following an 8-0 run. During this stretch Alexis Middlebrooks was responsible for three points, posting three of her 14 kills. The Vikings were then able to hold a multi-point advantage for the rest of the set – and even extended their lead to eight points at 19-11 – after going on another 4-0 run. Cleveland State then closed out the frame with a Gina Kilner kill, earning the 25-19 set victory.
In set two, Cleveland State was able to gain an advantage early on, posting seven of the first 10 points to gain a 7-3 lead – a lead they would go on to hold for the remainder of the frame. The two teams then traded points until midway through the frame when Fordham was able to come within one point, but a Katie Mihalik kill, Sara Skeens service ace and Fordham error put the Vikings back up by four at the 16-12 mark. Cleveland State then held a steady lead during the rest of the frame, putting the set away on back-to-back kills from Mariah Carrero-Johnson and Middlebrooks.
After the intermission the Vikings came out flat, falling behind early and then struggling to regain any ground, trailing by eight points at the 16-8 mark of the third set. A kill from Carrero-Johnson snapped the Fordham run, and then a Fordham error and a block by Carrero-Johnson and Mihalik closed the gap for the Vikings to just five points at 16-11. Fordham was able to extend their lead to 17-12 after picking up the following point, but the Vikings responded with seven of the next eight points, storming back to tie the frame at 18-18 on a Middlebrooks kill. The two teams then traded points throughout the remainder of the set, with neither team able to close out the frame until the 27-27 mark when Cleveland State was able to post two straight points on a Fordham error and a Shannon Grega service ace.
Up Next
· Cleveland State will continue its three-match East Coast roadswing tomorrow (Saturday, September 2), facing Binghamton (11:00 a.m.) and Marist (3:00 p.m.).
