Photo Credit: Rachel Von Stroup
FORT WAYNE, Ind. – The Cleveland State volleyball team opened up its two-match series at Purdue Fort Wayne Monday evening, picking up a 3-1 victory over the Mastodons. With the win, the Vikings improve to 5-4 overall this season.
Match Stats
• Four Vikings finished the match with double-digit kills, led by Emily DeGeorge with 19. Peyton Bloomer added 15 kills, while Hannah Greene and London Portis both chipped in 12.
• Caroline Kucia led the Viking defense with 15 digs, while Abby Miller added 10 digs.
• Abby Miller finished the match with 48 assists, helping the Vikings to a .324 hitting percentage as a team.
• Hannah Greene posted a team-best six total blocks, while Chelsea Penfield and London Portis each added three blocks.
Match Notes
• With her 15 kills on the match, Peyton Bloomer notched a career-high, and just her second double-digit kill match of the season.
• Playing as Cleveland State's libero, freshman Caroline Kucia posted a season-high with her 15 digs on the night.
• Abby Miller posted her fourth double-double of the season with 48 assists and 10 digs at Purdue Fort Wayne.
• With nine digs against the Mastodons, Emily DeGeorge moved into sixth place in the CSU Career Record Book with 1,220 digs.
• After posting six total blocks on the match, Hannah Greene now ranks ninth in the CSU Career Record Book with 358 total blocks, and is tied for eighth with 59 solo blocks.
• This marked the first match between the two teams as Horizon League opponents.
The Match
During the opening set the Vikings were able to jump out to an early 10-3 advantage following an Emily DeGeorge kill, and held a sizeable lead for the remainder of the frame. After gaining a 24-12 lead on a Hannah Greene kill, the Vikings were finally able to put the set away with a kill from Peyton Bloomer to earn the 25-14 first set victory.
The second set was much of the same, as Cleveland State was able to once again gain a multi-point lead midway through the frame at the 12-9 mark following a Mastodon error, and would hold at least a two-point lead for the rest of the set. Although Purdue Fort Wayne was able to fight off the first set point, the Vikings were able to close out the frame on a DeGeorge kill for the 25-19 second set victory.
After dropping the third set, the Vikings responded by jumping out to a 9-4 lead in the fourth frame following five straight points capped off by a Bloomer kill. The Mastodons were able to close the gap to just one point over the next few plays then, but a 3-0 run from the Vikings – including kills from Greene and DeGeorge – put the Vikings up by four points at 14-10.
The Vikings were once again able to hold off another Mastodon run, and gained a 20-15 advantage on a Bloomer kill, before closing out the set with another pair of kills from Bloomer for the 25-18 fourth set victory.
Up Next
The Vikings and the Mastodons will face off in match two of the series tomorrow (Tuesday, February 23), with first serve set for 6:00 p.m.