CLEVELAND, Ohio – The Cleveland State volleyball team returned to the friendly confines of Woodling Gymnasium Wednesday evening, picking up a 3-0 victory over Northern Kentucky. With the win, the Vikings improved to 11-7 overall this season and 4-3 in Horizon League play.
Cleveland State vs. Northern Kentucky Box Score
Match Stats
· Alexis Middlebrooks tallied a team-best 14 kills on a .636 hitting percentage.
· Gina Kilner added 10 kills, while Hannah Greene, Rachel Stover and Sara Skeens all tallied six kills.
· Gina Kilner notched 34 assists on the match.
· Jordan Verbiak led the Viking defense with 14 digs, while Shannon Grega notched 13 and Emily DeGeorge tallied 12 digs.
· Alexis Middlebrooks posted a team-high five blocks, while Rachel Stover adding four and Hannah Greene posting three.
· As a team, the Vikings recorded five service aces, including two from Shannon Grega and Jordan Verbiak.
The Match
Cleveland State was able to gain control of the match right from the start, opening the first frame on a 5-1 run. The Vikings were able to hold this lead - and extend it to 14-7 - following a Rachel Stover kill, then went on to own the advantage for the rest of the set. Cleveland State closed out the frame with four of the last five points, including back-to-back kills from Stover and Alexis Middlebrooks to finish off the frame.
During the second set both teams traded points throughout the start of the frame, until Cleveland State went on a 5-0 run to gain a 15-10 advantage following a Gina Kilner kill and an NKU error. The Vikings were then able to hold a sizeable advantage throughout the rest of the frame, closing the set on another Norse error.
The third set was much of the same, as both teams once again traded points throughout the opening portion of the frame until the Vikings were able to distance themselves at the 16-11 mark after forcing two straight NKU errors. The Vikings then controlled play throughout the rest of the frame, and earned the 3-0 sweep on a pair of Middlebrooks kills.
CSU Career Record Book
· Shannon Grega became just the fourth Viking all-time to eclipse the 1,250-dig mark, finishing the match with 1,261 career digs.
· With five total blocks on the match, Alexis Middlebrooks surpassed the 400-block total for her career, finishing the night with 402 total blocks.
· After posting 14 kills against NKU, Alexis Middlebrooks is now just 30 kills shy of recording 1,000 for her career.
Up Next
· Cleveland State will travel to Green Bay for a 7:00 p.m. EST contest on Friday, October 13.
