MATCH #5
@ Northern Kentucky | Monday, February 8 | Highland Heights, Ky. | 6:00 p.m.
Live Stats
MATCH #6
@ Northern Kentucky | Tuesday, February 9 | Highland Heights, Ky. | 3:00 p.m.
Live Stats
QUICK SETS
The Cleveland State volleyball team will continue the adjusted 2021 season this week, traveling to Northern Kentucky for a pair of matches against the Norse on Monday, February 8 and Tuesday, February 9. The Vikings enter the week with a 3-1 mark on the young season, while NKU is currently 0-2 on the year.
ENTERING THE WEEK…
The Vikings will be looking to stay perfect on the road this year…Cleveland State will try to pick up its second #HLVB series sweep on the 2021 campaign…The Vikings will be trying to snap a four-game losing streak against the Norse.
SCOUTING THE NORSE
Northern Kentucky enters the week with an 0-2 record on the season after dropping a pair of matches at Wright State to begin their 2021 season last week…Earlier this year, the Norse were selected to finish second in the #HLVB Preseason Poll after capturing the 2019 Horizon League Tournament title…NKU returns a pair of all-league honorees from last year in Anna Brinkmann and Abby Kanakry.
LAST TIME OUT…
Cleveland State earned a series split against Milwaukee in its first homestand of the 2021 season. The Vikings' win against the Panthers came as a 3-0 sweep in the series finale, as Cleveland State now owns a 10-4 record against Milwaukee over the last seven seasons.
2021 #HLVB PLAY
This year's Horizon League schedule will have a different look to it, as the Vikings will face the same opponent in back-to-back matches each week. Cleveland State is scheduled to host three more #HLVB series against, Oakland, Robert Morris and Youngstown State, while the Vikings will still travel to Northern Kentucky, Purdue Fort Wayne and Wright State throughout the rest of the season.
CLEVELAND STATE ON THE ROAD
Monday's match at Northern Kentucky will mark the third of what is scheduled to be an eight match road slate for the Vikings this season. So far this year, Cleveland State owns a perfect 2-0 record on the road as one of three #HLVB teams to be unbeaten when playing away from home.
EFFICIENT OFFENSIVE ATTACK
Last time out, the Vikings had their best offensive performance of the season, as they posted a .372 hitting percentage after recording just four errors on the entire match (39-4-94). The Vikings were led by Hannah Greene with 11 kills on a .688 clip (11-0-16), while Chelsea Penfield finished with a .600 hitting percentage (6-0-10). Cleveland State's .372 clip marked the third highest hitting percentage among #HLVB teams this season, while the four errors is tied for the fewest on the year.
…MILLER LEADING THE VIKING OFFENSE
Freshman Abby Miller continues to lead the Viking offense, serving as Cleveland State's primary setter through the first two #HLVB series. So far this season, Miller is averaging 8.57 assists per set to rank fourth among league players. As just the third freshman to lead the Viking offense as the primary setter over the last 13 seasons, Miller has combined for 120 assists this season, including a season-high 36 against Green Bay (1/26).
VIKINGS ON THE BLOCK
After two weeks of #HLVB play the Vikings rank second among Horizon League teams averaging 2.75 blocks per set. So far this year, Cleveland State has finished with 10.0+ total team blocks twice, including a league-high 13.0 against Green Bay in the season opener. Individually, Chelsea Penfield leads the league averaging 1.29 blocks per set, while Hannah Greene ranks third (1.21). Greene's eight total blocks against Green Bay earlier this year still stands as a league-high.
…GREENE IN CSU CAREER RECORD BOOK
Entering the week, senior Hannah Greene is ranked in the top-10 in a pair of CSU Career Record Book categories, as she is 10th in block assists with 288 and 10th in solo blocks with 54. After starting the 2021 season already ranked in block assists, Greene moved into the solo blocks top-10 last week after finishing with two solo blocks against Milwaukee.
TOUT RETURNS AS CLEVELAND STATE LIBERO
Junior Lindsey Tout returns as Cleveland State's libero for the second straight season, entering the week ranked 10th among #HLVB players averaging 3.64 digs per set. Through the first two weeks, Tout has led a Viking defense that has held its opponents to a .140 hitting percentage - the second lowest mark among league teams. Tout has notched double-digit digs in three of the four matches so far this season, including 19 in the finale against Green Bay (1/26).
DeGEORGE ON CAREER DIGS LIST
Senior Emily DeGeorge moved up the CSU Career Digs List last time out, as she enters the week ranked ninth with 1,160 total digs. DeGeorge combined for 23 digs against the Panthers last week, including 14 in the first match of the series to mark the 63rd double-digit dig match of her career. Entering Monday's match at NKU, DeGeorge needs just 10 digs to move into eighth place on the list.
SCHOEN NAMED CLEVELAND STATE SAAC PRESIDENT
Prior to the 2020-21 academic school year, Cleveland State senior Halle Schoen was named the Cleveland State SAAC President, and will serve in the role for the remainder of the year. This will be Schoen's third year as an active member of CSU SAAC, as she was the Community Service Co-Chair as a junior and an active Board Member as a sophomore.
VIKINGS POST STRONG SEMESTER IN THE CLASSROOM
With the 2020 Fall Semester in the books, the Vikings posted one of their best semesters in program history, finishing with a 3.86 Team GPA for the term - the highest GPA among all 18 Cleveland State teams last semester. In addition, six Vikings were named to the Cleveland State President's List3.90+ (Halle Schoen, Audrey McConihe, Lydia Latimer, Keanna Avery, Sarah Green, Abby Miller), while nine Vikings earned a spot on the Cleveland State Dean's List3.25+ (Hannah Greene, Emily DeGeorge, Lindsey Tout, Chelsea Penfield, Peyton Bloomer, Caroline Kucia, Madalynn Butler, Ainslie McLaughlin, Sam Snow).
HEAD COACH CHUCK VOSS
Chuck Voss is in his 21st season at the helm of the Vikings, and owns a 365-235 (.608) overall record at Cleveland State. Under Voss the Vikings have recorded 16 winning seasons, including a streak of 10 straight from 2009 to 2018. 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 then later became the only active Horizon League coach to reach the 350-win mark at their current school.
UP NEXT
The Vikings will host Oakland in a two-match series on Monday, February 15 and Tuesday, February 16.
