MILWAUKEE, Wis. – The Cleveland State volleyball team opened up Horizon League play Friday night, picking up a 3-1 victory at Milwaukee behind a strong offensive performance. With the win, the Vikings are now 8-4 overall this season and 1-0 in #HLVB action.
Cleveland State vs. Milwaukee Box Score
Match Stats
· Five Vikings finished the match with double-digit kills, led by Sara Skeens with 13 kills.
· Trinniti Hall finished with 12 kills, while Mariah Carrero-Johnson added 11 and Rachel Stover and Emily DeGeorge both tallied 10 kills.
· Gina Kilner recorded 53 assists on Cleveland State's 58 kills.
· As a team, Cleveland State posted a .349 hitting percentage, with six individuals posting a .320 clip or better.
· Shannon Grega led the Viking defense with 17 digs on the match, while Rachael Dohar added 10 digs and Emily DeGeorge tallied eight.
· Trinniti Hall posted a team-best four blocks, while Sara Skeens and Mariah Carrero-Johnson both added three.
· As a team, the Vikings recorded eight service aces on the match, including four from Shannon Grega.
Match Notes
· Cleveland State now stands at 9-9 in #HLVB openers under head coach Chuck Voss.
· Friday's match marked just the second time that Cleveland State faced Milwaukee to open #HLVB play.
· Mariah Carrero-Johnson tied her career-high with the 11 kills against Milwaukee.
· With her 13 kills against Milwaukee, Sara Skeens has now tallied double-digit kills in the last five matches.
· Entering the match Cleveland State led the Horizon League in hitting percentage and kills, and ended the match with a .271 hitting percentage on the season and averaging 13.85 kills per set.
· The Vikings have now won six of their last seven matches.
The Match
After dropping the first set, Cleveland State rebounded and picked up three straight set victories, capturing the #HLVB opening day victory. During set two, both teams traded points throughout the opening points, until Cleveland State tallied three straight points to gain a four-point lead at the 11-7 mark. During this stretch, the Vikings got a pair of kills from Rachel Stover and another kill from Mariah Carrero-Johnson, forcing a Milwaukee timeout. The Vikings were able to hold on to their advantage out of the timeout, and extended their lead to 14-9 following a pair of Panther errors. The Vikings were able to hold their advantage throughout the next part of the frame then, until Milwaukee was able to work its way back into the set and tie the score multiple times. After the Panthers managed a 20-20 tie, the Vikings went on a 5-0 run to end of the frame, coming away with the 25-20 second set victory. Over the final four points of the set, Shannon Grega recorded three service aces.
The third set was much of the same, as both teams traded points throughout the majority of the frame, with neither team holding a sizeable advantage. The Vikings were once again able to distance themselves at the end of the set, as they earned a three-point lead at the 22-19 mark, and then closed the frame with three of the final four points. During the final part of the set, Emily DeGeorge recorded three kills for the Vikings, clinching the 25-21 third set victory to gain a 2-1 lead in the match.
Cleveland State was then able to carry its momentum into the fourth and final frame, capturing a commanding 25-15 set victory to clinch the match. After gaining a 14-10 advantage midway through the set on a Panther error, the Vikings were able to hold Milwaukee to just five more points throughout the frame and closed the set on a Sara Skeens kill.
CSU Career Record Book
· With her 17 digs against Milwaukee, Shannon Grega moved into eighth place in the CSU Career Record Book, ending the contest with 1,145 digs.
· After recording 53 assists Friday evening, Gina Kilner eclipsed the 3,700-assist mark for her career, finishing the match with 3,705 assists.
Up Next
· The Vikings will continue Horizon League play at UIC tomorrow (Saturday, September 23), facing the Flames at 5:00 p.m. EST.