Oct. 24, 2003
CLEVELAND - The Cleveland State volleyball team was on the short end of a 30-25, 29-31, 30-22, 29-31, 13-15 decision against UW-Green Bay (17-5, 7-1 Horizon League) Friday night in Woodling Gymnasium. The Vikings (15-11, 2-6 HL) had won eight of the first 11 five-game matches in head coach Chuck Voss' four-year tenure, before dropping five in the last six weeks, including three in conference play.
CSU had a legitimate chance to win all five games. In the second frame, the Vikings could not hold a 25-23 lead. It was much the same in the fourth game, as three consecutive aces by UWGB's Janelle Tomlinson turned a three-point deficit into a 24-24 tie.
In the deciding game, Green Bay fought back from 5-1 and 9-5 holes to knot the score at 9-9. CSU appeared to have righted the ship when an Emily Clark (Bolivar, Ohio/Tuscarawas Valley) kill and a block by Jamie Bouyer (Bedford Heights, Ohio/Chanel) and Nickole Kennedy (Sunbury, Ohio/Big Walnut) gave the Vikings an 11-9 lead. However, two Tomlinson kills and three straight CSU errors pushed the Phoenix to match point. The Vikings managed to close the gap to 14-13, but Tomlinson put an end to the match with her 20th kill of the night.
"This was by far and away our toughest loss of the season," Voss said. "You have to give Green Bay credit, they have players who have been in this situation before and they stepped up when it counted. It will be interesting to see how we respond tomorrow."
Sophomore outside hitter Jenna Maddocks (Norwalk, Ohio/Norwalk) led CSU with a career-high 18 kills and a .447 hitting percentage. Bouyer added 16 kills, 10 digs and eight blocks, while Kennedy posted 16 kills. Sophomore Katie Calhoon (Mansfield, Ohio/Madison) led all players with a career-high 26 digs.
Tomlinson added five aces and 18 digs, while Jessie Theys posted 18 kills for the Phoenix.
Cleveland State is in action again tomorrow (Oct. 25) when the Vikings host league-leading UW-Milwaukee (19-3, 8-0 HL) at 2:00 p.m. The Panthers are currently riding a nine-match winning streak.
