Oct. 15, 2010
Contact: Greg Murphy
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CLEVELAND, Ohio - Kara Koch had 16 kills and Jackie Dabbelt added 12 as Cleveland State improved to 16-2 overall with a 3-1 victory over UIC on Friday night in Woodling Gym in front of 887 fans on CYO Night.
The Vikings also maintained pace in the Horizon League, improving to 7-2, while the Flames fell to 9-12 overall and 4-5 in league play.
Match scores were 21-25, 26-24, 25-19, 25-22.
"This was a battle all night," head coach Chuck Voss said. "We had a great environment with all the CYO teams here and it was great to come away with a win.
"UIC played hard all night and really took us out of our rhythm all night. But we did a great job of hanging in there and battling hard for each point. We did a great job at the net with our blocking tonight."
Koch added 15 digs for her fifth straight double-double, while Lindsey Griffith had 11 kills and Amy Benz 10. Amy Grabiec made a match-best 20 digs, while Jordan Goad finished with 51 assists and eight digs.
The Vikings took a 16-11 lead in set one on a Jordan Goad service ace, but the Flames rallied to assume an 18-17 lead on a Viking attack error that capped a 6-2 run. After the teams traded six straight points to make it 20-20, UIC scored three straight to take a 23-20 lead and eventually win the set.
The Flames hit .395 (19-2-43) for the set.
Set two featured 15 ties and eight lead changes and neither team leading by more than two points. With the set tied at 24-24, the Vikings used a kill by Koch and a UIC attack error to even the match at 1-1. CSU was aided by 12 Flame attack errors in the set, holding UIC to a .060 (15-12-50) attack percentage.
CSU took a 14-8 lead in the third set on Goad service ace. UIC would cut its deficit to one at 20-19, but CSU closed the set with five straight points to take a 2-1 lead.
Set four was also back and forth with five ties and five lead changes with the vikings racing out to a quick 7-4 lead. However, an 8-3 UIC run allowed the Flames to gain a 12-10 advantage on a Janise Dismuke kill.
Three straight CSU points gave the Vikings a 13-12 lead, but UIC rallied to reclaim a 20-17 lead. A Kara Koch kill followed, slicing the CSU deficit to 20-18 and Annie Djukic served the Vikings to four straight points, giving the Vikings a 22-20 lead before a Griffith kill and UIC attack error clinched the victory.
CSU will be back in action on Tuesday (Oct. 19) when the Vikings host Bowling Green at 7:00 p.m.
