The Cleveland State volleyball team will try to defend its Horizon League Tournament title this weekend, as the Vikings are set for the 2018 Horizon League Championship. The Vikings, who earned the No. 2 seed in the upcoming tournament, will begin play with a semifinal contest on Saturday, November 17. The two winners of Saturday's semifinals will then play for the #HLVB title on Sunday, November 18.

 

The Vikings own a 17-11 overall record, and posted an 11-5 mark in Horizon League regular season contests…Cleveland State has won five of its last eight matches, and owns a 6-4 record against the tournament field this season…The Vikings enter the tournament as the No. 2 seed and will begin play in the semifinals.

 

This will be the ninth time under head coach Chuck Voss that the Vikings will enter the Horizon League Tournament as a top-two seed, including the fourth straight year. Over the past 18 years, Cleveland State has advanced to the championship match of the Horizon League Tournament nine times (2004, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2012, 2015, 2016, 2017) claiming the title during the 2007, 2012, 2015, 2016, and 2017 seasons. With their bye into the semifinals this year, the Vikings have now reached the semifinals 14 times, and hold an overall record of 20-13 in Horizon League Championship action.

 

Cleveland State enters the weekend as the three-time defending champion of the Horizon League Tournament, as the Vikings captured the crown during the 2015, 2016 and 2017 seasons. With their championship last year, the Vikings became just the second team in Horizon League history to win three straight #HLVB Tournament titles, and the first to do so since the 1994 season. Last year's title marked the fifth in program history, making Cleveland State one of three teams in the league to have captured at least five tournament titles (Milwaukee & Loyola). 

 

The Vikings were well represented in this year's postseason honors from the Horizon League, as Trinniti Hall, Emily DeGeorge, Hannah Greene, Rachel Stover, and Christina Grecol all earned all-league accolades. This marks the 12th straight season that a Viking has earned All-League honors, while it is the 12th time out of the last 13 seasons that CSU has had a representative on the All-Freshman Team.

 

Hall picks up First Team All-Horizon League honors for the first time in her career, becoming the 21st Viking to be named to the team. Hall finished the regular season with a team-best 319 total kills, averaging 2.87 kills per set on a .273 hitting percentage. Hall has tallied double-digit kills on 18 occasions, including a career-high 24-kill performance against Oakland (10/21). Hall has also added 124 total blocks on the year, as part of one of the nation's best blocking teams.

 

DeGeorge picks up All-League accolades for the second straight year, earning a spot on the Honorable Mention All-Horizon League Team. DeGeorge has started every match for the Vikings this season as a six-rotation player, and is one of just four Horizon League players to average 3.70+ digs and 2.20+ kills per set this season. DeGeorge has tallied 419 total digs and 246 total kills so far this season, and recorded a team-best eight double-doubles.

 

Greene was named to the Honorable Mention All-Horizon League Team, after leading the league and ranking second nationally with 170 total blocks this season. Greene has recorded three or more blocks during all but one match this season, including a career-high 12-block effort against Milwaukee (11/4). Greene has also added 181 kills on the year, averaging 1.63 kills per set on a .234 hitting percentage.

 

Stover picks up All-League honors for the second time in her career, earning a spot on the Honorable Mention All-Horizon League Team. Stover has recorded 211 total kills this season, as one of four Vikings with 200+ kills on the year. As one of the strongest right side hitters in the league, she has also posted 117 total blocks, as part of one of the nation's best blocking teams.

 

Grecol earned a spot on the Horizon League All-Freshman Team after leading the Viking offense as the first freshman primary setter at Cleveland State since the 2008 campaign. For the year, Grecol has 1,062 total assists, and ranks second among league players averaging 9.93 assists per set. Grecol has also added 210 total digs and 32 total blocks on the year.

 

Cleveland State has been the best blocking team in the Horizon League this season, entering the #HLVB Tournament averaging 2.86 blocks per set. As a team, the Vikings have recorded 317.5 total blocks, a mark that leads all Division I teams. Cleveland State has recorded 10.0 or more total blocks on 18 occasions this season, including a season-high 17.0 total blocks three times (Binghamton, UIC, Milwaukee).

 

Cleveland State's 317.5 total blocks ranks third in the CSU Single-Season Record Book, while the Vikings also rank third with 537 block assists. Individually, Hannah Greene ranks third with 170 total blocks, becoming just the third Viking all-time to notch 170+ blocks in a single season. 

 

Following a 26-dig performance against Northern Kentucky in the regular season finale, senior Rachael Dohar surpassed the 1,000-dig mark for her career, entering the #HLVB Tournament with 1,019 career digs. For the season, Dohar leads the Vikings averaging 5.02 digs per set, while she ranks fourth among league players. Dohar has tallied 20 or more digs during 15 matches this season, including a career-high 30-dig effort against Bowling Green (9/8) and Wright State (11/9).

 

For the year, Rachael Dohar now has 557 total digs, a mark that ranks second in the CSU Single-Season Record Book. Following her record-setting night against Northern Kentucky last time out, Dohar eclipsed the 550-dig mark for the season, becoming one of just two Vikings all-time to notch 550+ digs in a single-season. Dohar enters the #HLVB Tournament 42 digs shy of tying the single-season record which was set by Jordan Bateman back in 2007 (599).

 

Cleveland State has had the advantage of playing with a balanced offensive attack throughout the 2018 campaign, as four Vikings finished the regular season with 200+ kills. Trinniti Hall leads the team with 319 total kills, while Sara Skeens has tallied 305. Emily DeGeorge (246 kills) and Rachel Stover (211) have also eclipsed the 200-kill mark this season, as this quartet has accounted for nearly 80-percent of Cleveland State's offense through 28 matches.

 

Chuck Voss is in his 19th season at the helm of the Vikings, and owns a 354-214 (.623) overall record at CSU. Under Voss the Vikings have recorded 16 winning seasons, including 10 straight when counting the 2018 season. Cleveland State has eclipsed the 20-win mark eight times since Voss took over the program, and has captured Horizon League Tournament titles five times (2007, 2012, 2015, 2016 & 2017) under his guidance. During the 2016 season, Voss became the all-time winningest coach in program history and became the the only active Horizon League coach to reach the 300-win mark at their current school.