Oct. 25, 2008
Contact: Greg Murphy
CLEVELAND, Ohio - Jordan Bateman had a season-high 29 digs to break the Cleveland State career record for digs and the Vikings rallied to win the final three sets to defeat Wright State, 3-2, in Horizon League action on Saturday afternoon in Woodling Gym.
Match scores were 26-28, 21-25, 25-17, 25-14, 15-12. CSU improved to 5-16 overall and 4-7 in the Horizon League, while Wright State, which came into the match in second place in the standings, slipped to 11-14 overall and 7-5 in league play.
"This was a huge win for us because we were able to maintain our composure and prove that we can comeback," head coach Chuck Voss said. "We dug ourselves into a hole by losing the first two sets, but really started to click well in the final three sets. We were very good defensively again and started to hit the ball like we know that we are capable of doing."
Bateman, who entered the match needing 24 digs to break Emily Clark's school record of 1,406, finished with 28 digs and now has 1,411 for her career.
"Jordan played outstanding all match," Voss said. "She has been a big part of our program over the last four seasons and has led our defense over the last three seasons. It was nice to see her get the record."
CSU lost a tight first set, despite totaling 20 kills compared to 13 for the Raiders. The 28-26 score was tied for the highest score in a set for CSU this season.
Set two was close throughout with no team claiming a lead of more than three points and featuring 11 tie scores and five lead changes. The set was tied for the final time at 20-20 on a Raider attack error, but WSU scored the next four points to take a 24-20 lead and eventually earn the win.
Following the intermission, CSU came out and scored the first three points of the third set and would never trail, eventually pushing the lead to as many as eight points at various points of the set.
It was much of the same in set four, as the Vikings came out and tallied the first three points and would again never trail in the set. A Liz Fazio kill pushed the lead to 8-3, but following a Raider timeout, WSU went on a 4-1 run to slice the lead to 9-7.
However, a 10-3 CSU run, highlighted by three service aces from Lefeld, extended the Viking lead to 19-10 and forced a deciding fifth set.
The Vikings left little doubt, racing out to an 8-3 lead, to win for the first time in eight attempts in matches that went the distance this year.
Fazio finished with 18 kills, while Ramminger (12), Lefeld (13), Amy Benz (11) and Beth Greulich (10) also reached double-digit kills. Lefeld added 11 digs for a double-double, while Jordan Goad totaled a career-high 60 assists and 12 digs for a double-double.
Shaunda Sandifer led the Raiders with 17 kills, while Michelle Hammond had 45 assists and nine digs.
The Vikings will be back in action on Friday, Oct. 31, when CSU hosts Butler beginning at 7:00 p.m. in Woodling Gym.
