MATCH #14
IUPUI | Friday, September 29 | 6:00 p.m.
Live Stats | Live Video
MATCH #15
Wright State | Saturday, September 30 | 4:00 p.m.
Live Stats | Live Video
CLEVELAND STATE MATCH NOTES vs. IUPUI/WRIGHT STATE
QUICK SETS
After playing the first five weeks of the 2017 season on the road, the Cleveland State volleyball team will appear in Woodling Gymnasium for the first time this weekend, hosting IUPUI (Friday, September 29) and Wright State (Saturday, September 30) in a pair of #HLVB contests. The Vikings enter the weekend with an 8-5 overall record and a 1-1 mark in league play after splitting their opening weekend matches against Milwaukee and UIC last time out.
2016 HORIZON LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP BANNER CEREMONY
Prior to Friday evening's match against IUPUI, the Vikings will welcome back the 2016 senior class and unveil their Horizon League Championship and NCAA Tournament banners. Make sure you are in your seat early to catch the volleyball program adding to their history!
THIS WEEKEND'S OPPONENTS
IUPUI | The Jaguars enter Friday's match as one of three #HLVB teams to be perfect in league play, as they picked up a pair of wins against NKU and WSU during the opening weekend of play. Earlier this season, IUPUI was selected to finish sixth in the preseason poll.
Wright State | The Raiders enter the weekend with a 6-9 overall record and stand at 0-2 in Horizon League play. WSU dropped its opening weekend matches against IUPUI and Northern Kentucky last time out, and was selected to finish eighth in the #HLVB preseason poll.
CLEVELAND STATE IN THE HORIZON LEAGUE
After going 1-1 during the opening weekend of Horizon League play last time out, the Vikings currently own a 146-94 record in regular season league contests under head coach Chuck Voss. The Vikings, who are competing in their 17th season of Horizon League action, have captured four Regular Season crowns (2009, 2012, 2015, 2016) and a quartet of tournament titles (2007, 2012, 2015, 2016). Cleveland State's program record for most league wins in a season is 14 - a mark that the Vikings set last season.
…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.
ROAD WARRIORS
To begin the 2017 season, the Vikings played their first 13 matches away from home, spending the first five weeks of the campaign on the road. This roadswing included an 11-match non-league slate and the first two #HLVB contests of the season. During this stretch the Vikings traveled to six different states and covered over 3,400 miles.
…BECOME WOODLING WARRIORS
Cleveland State will host its first homestand of the 2017 season this weekend, playing the first two matches of what will be just an eight-match home slate for the Vikings. Over the last two years, the Vikings own a 22-4 overall record when playing in Woodling Gymnasium, including a 14-2 mark in regular season #HLVB contests. The current Cleveland State roster - with the seniors playing their first matches during the 2014 season - owns a 28-9 overall mark in Woodling Gymnasium.
IUPUI JOINS #HLVB
Friday's match against IUPUI will be the first between the two teams as Horizon League opponents, as IUPUI joined the league back in July. The Jaguars made the move after spending 10 years in the Summit League, where they recorded five top-two league finishes, three regular season titles and one tournament championship.
GREGA CONTINUES CLIMB UP CSU CAREER RECORD BOOK
Senior libero Shannon Grega continued her climb up the CSU Career Record Book last weekend, as she finished the opening weekend of #HLVB play ranked eighth with 1,163 career digs. Grega, who is averaging 4.38 digs per set this season, has notched 15+ digs during 10 matches this year including a season-high 22 against Oral Roberts. Entering Friday's match, Grega is just six digs shy of moving into seventh place on the list, and 28 digs shy of moving into sixth place.
…CONTINUES TO INCH CLOSER TO SERVICE ACES TOP-10
Shannon Grega has also been strong from the service line this season, as she enters the weekend leading the Horizon League averaging 0.50 service aces per set. Grega, who tallied four aces at Milwaukee and at UIC last weekend, has 88 on her career and is inching closer to a spot on the top-10 list in the CSU Career Record Book. Nationally, Grega ranks 20th with her 0.50 aces per set and 28th with 25 total service aces this season.
VIKINGS FIRING ON ALL CYLINDERS
Entering this weekend's homestand, the Cleveland State offense continues to lead the Horizon League in all three major statistical categories; hitting percentage (.269), kills (13.82/set) and assists (13.16/set). So far this season the Vikings have tallied 691 kills, with Alexis Middlebrooks carrying a large portion of the load (134 kills) and the trio of Trinniti Hall (119), Sara Skeens (91) and Emily DeGeorge (90) contributing 43-percent of Cleveland State's offense. The Vikings have notched a .250 hitting percentage or better in six matches, including a season-high clip of .381 against Indiana State (47-10-97).
…INDIVIDUAL STANDINGS
Individually, four Vikings rank in the top-10 in the Horizon League in hitting percentage, including three that have a .300 clip of better. Mariah Carrero-Johnson is at the top of the standings with a .374 hitting percentage (67-18-131), while Alexis Middlebrooks ranks fourth (.348) and Gina Kilner ranks seventh (.316). If the season were to end today, Carrero-Johnson and Middlebrooks would both rank in the top-10 in the CSU Single Season Record Book, while Kilner would be just shy of earning a spot on the list.
2017 WEEKLY #HLVB HONORS
So far this season the Vikings have been honored once by the Horizon League, as senior setter Gina Kilner was named the #HLVB Offensive Player of the Week on September 11. Kilner picked up the weekly honor after averaging 11.67 assists per set at the Chippewa Challenge en route to earning All-Tournament Team accolades. Kilner tallied 70 total assists on the weekend to become the fifth Viking all-time to eclipse the 3,500-assist mark, and helped the Vikings to a .374 hitting percentage as a team.
HEAD COACH CHUCK VOSS
Chuck Voss is in his 18th season at the helm of the Vikings, and owns a 323-200 (.617) 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.
UP NEXT
Cleveland State's homestand will be short lived, as the Vikings return to the road next weekend, traveling to Youngstown State (Friday, October 6) and Oakland (Saturday, October 7) to continue Horizon League play.
