Oct. 3, 2008
Contact: Greg Murphy
VALPARAISO, Ind. - Angie Porche registered a match-best 23 kills to lead Valparaiso to a five-set win over Cleveland State on Friday night in Horizon League action at the Athletics Recreation Center.
CSU fell to 2-11 overall and 1-3 in league play, while the Crusaders improved to 9-5 overall and 1-3 in the conference.
It was the first meeting between the two teams since the Vikings knocked off Valparaiso, 3-1, to win the 2007 Horizon League Championship.
Beth Greulich led CSU with 17 kills , while Kayla Lefeld finished with a double-double of 13 kills and 10 digs. Liz Fazio chipped in 13 kills and Amy Benz added 10 kills and five blocks.
Jordan Goad dished out 54 assists to go along with seven digs and Jordan Goad tallied a match-high 28 digs.
CSU hit .581 (20-2-31) in the first set, but had to scrap for the win as the Crusaders were almost as impressive, hitting .486 (20-2-37). The set featured nine ties and four lead changes, the last coming when a Lefeld kill gave the Vikings a 26-25 lead. Goad gave CSU a 1-0 lead with a kill on the next serve.
The Vikings raced out quickly in set two, claiming a 16-9 lead following a kill from Lefeld. However, Valparaiso closed the set on a 16-6 run, evening the match at one game apiece at the intermission.
The Crusaders used that momentum to take a 14-9 lead in the third set on a Jill Meyer kill. But this time, it was CSU's turn to come-from-behind as the Vikings fought all the way back to even the set at 22-22 on a Lefeld service ace. The teams traded six straight points until back-to-back kills by Porche and Tara Newton extended Valpo's lead to 2-1.
With their backs against the wall, CSU again fell behind in the fourth set, trailing 14-11 on a Val Bollenbacher kill. But CSU would not go away, using a 10-6 run to take a 21-20 lead following a Greulich kill. The Crusaders scored the next two points to reclaim a 22-21 lead, but the teams once again traded points and with the score tied at 24-24, CSU used a Valpo service ace and a Jenni Ramminger kill to win the set and even the match at two games each.
Valpo scored the first five points of the final set and claimed an 8-2 lead after another Bollenbacher kill. But once again, CSU did not go quietly, slicing their deficit to 10-8 on a Fazio kill. However, that was as close as CSU would get as the Vikings dropped their second straight five-set match.
Allison Sears had 16 kills for Valpo, while Meyer (14), Newton (11) and Bollenbacher (10) also reached double-digit kills. Brittany Malicoat had 27 digs and Kim Bukowski dished out 66 assists.
CSU will return to action on Saturday (Oct. 4) afternoon when the Vikings travel to Butler for a 4:00 p.m. match.
