Nov. 8, 2003
CLEVELAND - Cleveland State closed out its home schedule with an all-too-familiar result, as they came out on the losing end of a 30-25, 16-30, 26-30, 30-27, 16-18 decision Saturday afternoon against Butler. The Vikings (16-15, 3-10 Horizon League) have now lost seven consecutive five-game matches this year, including five contests against the top four teams in the conference. The Bulldogs (18-10, 8-4 HL) also had to go the distance to win on Oct. 10 in Indianapolis.
After falling behind two games-to-one, CSU sophomore Julie Stover (Northwood, Ohio/Northwood) came off the bench in the fourth game to spark the Vikings with six kills on nine swings.
The decisive fifth frame featured nine ties and six lead changes. After Butler erased a 12-9 deficit with three consecutive points, the Vikings pushed ahead to 14-13 and had a swing to win the match, but the Bulldogs blocked the kill attempt to tie the game again. After trading a couple of more points, Butler pulled out the win with consecutive kills from Areal Bienemy and Sara Gallagher.
"What can you say, we had two swings to win the match, but Butler made the plays when it mattered most," CSU head coach Chuck Voss said. "Julie came in off the bench in the fourth game and gave us the spark we were missing. She put us in a position to win."
Junior setter Kelly Crain (Perrysburg, Ohio/Perrysburg) posted 59 assists for the match and midway through the third game established a new CSU season record for assists in a season. Her current total of 1,318 helpers eclipses the old mark of 1,287 set by Stacie Cunningham in 1996.
Viking junior middle hitter Jamie Bouyer (Bedford Heights, Ohio/Chanel) led all players with 23 kills, while sophomores Emily Clark (Bolivar, Ohio/Tuscarawas Valley) and Nickole Kennedy (Sunbury, Ohio/Big Walnut) each added 11 kills.
Kali Carter paced the Bulldogs with 22 kills and 15 digs, while Megan Knightly also recorded a double-double with 10 kills and 13 digs.
Cleveland State closes out the regular season with a match next Friday (Nov. 14) at Youngstown State at 7:00 p.m.
