Nov. 7, 2009
Contact: Greg Murphy
MILWAUKEE, Wis. - Beth Greulich had 14 kills and Amy Benz added 11, but Cleveland State hit just .106 for the match as the Vikings fell at Milwaukee, 3-1, on Saturday afternoon.
Match scores were 27-25, 23-25, 25-18, 25-18.
CSU slipped to 24-7 overall and 12-3 in the Horizon League, maintaining a one-half match lead over Valparaiso for first place in the standings heading into the final weekend of play.
Valparaiso swept Loyola earlier today to improve to 11-3 in league play with matches at Milwaukee and Green Bay next weekend.
CSU closes its regular season on Friday (Nov. 13) when the Vikings host Youngstown State at 6:00 p.m. in a Senior Day tilt.
The Vikings "magic number" to clinch the league title is one, meaning a CSU win or a Valpo loss would give the Vikings the regular season title. If Valpo sweeps its two matches next weekend and CSU falls to YSU, the Crusaders would win the league title.
The winner of the regular season title will host the Horizon League Championship from Nov. 20-22.
"We know what we have to do heading into the final weekend," head coach Chuck Voss said. "We were not very sharp today and Milwaukee made us pay. They are a very talented team and much better than their record indicates."
Milwaukee improved to 11-14 overall and 8-6 in league action.
Liz Fazio finished with 10 kills and seven digs, while Jordan Goad amassed 43 assists and six digs. Maggie Bonomini made a team-high 17 digs.
The Vikings took a quick 4-1 lead to open the match, thanks to a service ace from Goad, a Greulich kill and a block by Greulich and Megan Barhorst. The lead was extended to 9-4, forcing UWM into a timeout.
A Kara Koch kill out of the timeout pushed the lead to 10-4, but an 8-2 Panther run evened the set at 12-12. A Goad kill stopped the run and put the Vikings back on top, 13-12, but UWM used an 8-3 run to take a 20-16 advantage. Three straight CSU points brought the Vikings back within one (20-19), but the Panthers came right back to score three of the next four points to assume a 23-20 lead.
The Vikings were able to battle back and knot the set at 24-24 and after the teams traded points, UWM used a CSU service error and kill to win the set.
UWM used that momentum to take a 4-1 lead, but the Vikings would use a 5-1 run to gain a 6-5 lead on a Koch kill. Still holding a one point lead (10-9), the Vikings went on to score the next three points and assume a 13-9 lead. UWM got as close as one (21-20), but could not tie the set or take a lead as CSU evened the match at one set apiece.
A quick 6-1 burst by the Panthers to open the third set forced the Vikings into a timeout. But UWM scored the first two points out of the break to extend the lead to 8-1 before a Panther attack error gave CSU the serve at 8-2.
However, CSU's slow start in the set was to much to overcome as the Vikings would get no closer than five points and UWM took a 2-1 lead.
UWM took a quick 4-1 lead in the fourth set, but the Vikings rallied to within one point at 8-7 on a Fazio kill, the third straight by CSU, to force a UWM timeout. CSU took its first lead of the set when a Barhorst service ace gave the Vikings a 12-11 advantage. However, four straight points by the Panthers allowed them to regain the lead at 15-12, forcing a Viking timeout.
The Panthers would extend the lead to 20-15 out of the timeout, forcing the Vikings to call another timeout. UWM scored the first three points out of the break, all but sealing the win.
Jena Berg and Maddie Sueppel led the Panthers with 14 kills each, while Berg and Lauren Felsing tied for match-high honors with 20 digs apiece.
The Vikings will conclude their regular season on Friday, Nov. 13, when CSU hosts Youngstown State for a Senior Day tilt at 6:00 p.m.
