MATCH #16
@ Youngstown State | Friday, October 6 | 6:00 pm
Live Stats | Live Video

MATCH #17
@ Oakland | Saturday, October 7 | 4:00 pm
Live Stats | Live Video

CLEVELAND STATE MATCH NOTES @ YOUNGSTOWN STATE/OAKLAND

QUICK SETS
After hosting their first homestand of the 2017 season last weekend, the Cleveland State volleyball team will return to the road this week, traveling to Youngstown State and Oakland for a pair of Horizon League contests. The Vikings will open the roadswing with a 6:00 p.m. contest at YSU on Friday, October 6 and will then face Oakland in a 4:00 p.m. contest on Saturday, October 7. Cleveland State enters the weekend with a 9-6 overall record and a 2-2 mark in #HLVB play.

THIS WEEKEND'S OPPONENTS
Youngstown State | The Penquins enter Friday's match standing at 7-11 overall this season and 0-4 in league play. YSU is currently on a four-match losing skid, dropping its first four #HLVB contests against UIC, Green Bay, Northern Kentucky and IUPUI.

Oakland | The Golden Grizzlies enter the weekend with a 7-9 overall record and a 2-2 mark in league play - tied for fourth place in the league standings with Northern Kentucky and the Vikings. Oakland enters Saturday's contest on a two-match winstreak, picking up wins against NKU and Wright State last weekend.

KILNER NOTCHES TRIPLE-DOUBLE
In last weekend's home opener, senior setter Gina Kilner recorded the first triple-double of her career, posting 46 assists, 14 digs and 10 kills against IUPUI. Kilner, who is just the fourth Viking to record a triple-double under head coach Chuck Voss, is the second #HLVB player to achieve the feat this season (Jordan Lentz, Oakland). 

…KILNER CLOSING IN ON 4,000 CAREER ASSISTS
After posting 46 assists against IUPUI on Friday, Gina Kilner followed that up with a 47-assist performance against Wright State, finishing the weekend with 3,839 career helpers. Kilner, who ranks third among league players averaging 11.03 assists per set this season, is just 161 assists shy of becoming the fifth Viking all-time to reach the 4,000-assist milestone and currently ranks fifth in the CSU Career Record Book.

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 weekend ranked sixth with 1,205 career digs. Grega, who is averaging 4.50 digs per set this season, has notched 15+ digs during 12 matches this year including a season-high 23 against Wright State last time out. Entering Friday's match, Grega is one of just six Vikings all-time to reach the 1,200-dig milestone, and is just 10 digs shy of moving into fifth place on the top-10 list.

…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 0.48 service aces per set. Grega, who combined for three aces against IUPUI and Wright State last weekend, has 91 on her career and is inching closer to a spot on the top-10 list in the CSU Career Record Book. Nationally, Grega ranks 19th with her 0.48 aces per set and 23rd with 28 total service aces this season.

VIKINGS ON THE BLOCK
Entering this weekend's contests, junior Mariah Carrero-Johnson is averaging over 1.00 blocks per set, and has tallied 45 total blocks through 15 matches this year. Carrero-Johnson, who ranks fifth in the Horizon League with 1.05 blocks per set, is part of the Cleveland State middle hitter duo that has combined for more than 70-percent of CSU's blocking efforts this season, joining senior Alexis Middlebrooks (0.90 blocks per set). Middlebrooks enters the weekend ranked in the top-10 in the CSU Career Record Book in block assists (6th - 344) and total blocks (6th - 391), while she is just shy of earning a spot in the top-10 in solo blocks (47).

SKEENS PICKING UP THE PACE
After struggling with a few preseason injuries and getting off to a slow start this season, reigning Horizon League Freshman of the Year Sara Skeens has picked up the pace over the last eight matches. After averaging just 1.25 kills per set through the first seven matches of the year, Skeens has rebounded to record 103 total kills during the last eight outings. During this stretch, Skeens is averaging 3.60 kills per set and has recorded double-digit kills in seven of the eight matches, including a career-high tying 17 kills against Wright State last time out.

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 and covered over 3,400 miles. After playing their first two home matches last weekend, the Vikings return to the road for a quick road trip to Youngstown State and Oakland this weekend.

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 324-201 (.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
The Vikings will split their time at home and on the road next week, hosting Northern Kentucky in a midweek matchup on Wednesday, October 11 before traveling to Green Bay for a Friday evening contest (October 13).