Nov. 10, 2007
Contact: Greg Murphy
CLEVELAND, Ohio - Five players recorded double-digit kills and Cleveland State hit .243 as a team as the Vikings earned a 30-21, 26-30, 31-29, 30-24 win over Youngstown State in Horizon League action on Saturday afternoon in Woodling Gym.
CSU finishes the regular season at 20-8 (13-3 HL), marking the first time since 1988 that the Vikings won 20 games. The 13 league wins are also a school-record. The win also capped a perfect league season at home for CSU (8-0), making it the first time in program history that the Vikings did not lose a league match at home. YSU fell to 12-17 (5-11 HL).
Amy Benz led the way with 17 kills, while Beth Greulich totaled 15 and Alexis Korovich 14. Liz Fazio (15) and Jenni Ramminger (10) were the final two players to reach double figures.
"Youngstown State is a good team and they forced us to do some things that we are not comfortable doing," head coach Chuck Voss said. "But we were able to make some key plays down the stretch to get the win."
Benz added nine blocks, while Korovich notched 19 digs for her 17th double-double of the season. Mel Snyder finished with 60 assists and 10 digs as she and fellow senior Seanna Steinle celebrated Senior Day as the duo played the final home match of their careers.
"I thought Seanna gave us a big spark off the bench and served some big points for us, especially in game four," Voss said. "This is always an emotional day, but I think Mel and Seanna both handled it well."
CSU held a 13-10 lead in game one before a 9-2 run broke the game open and gave the Vikings a 22-12 advantage. Benz and Greulich keyed the run with two kills each. CSU claimed a 10-6 lead early in game two, but the Penguins batted back to take a 14-13 lead and never relinquished that lead as they pushed it to as many as five points.
The Vikings came out of the intermission strong as they raced out to a 17-10 lead. YSU battled back by scoring the next five points to make it 17-15 and knotted the game at 26-26. From there, the Penguins scored three of the next four points for a 29-26 lead, but the Vikings refused to quit and scored the final four points for the win, including the final two on kills from Ramminger and Fazio.
Game four was back and forth until the midway point as CSU broke open a 16-15 lead with an 8-3 run and the Penguins never threatened again.
YSU received 16 kills and 12 digs from Jessica Fraley, while Ruth Boscaljon added 11 kills and Karla Everhart ended with 42 assists and 10 digs.
The Vikings return to action with a quarterfinal match in the Horizon League Tournament on Friday, Nov. 16, in Milwaukee. CSU will enter the tournament as the second seed and will play the seventh-seed at 2:00 p.m.
"When you get to the tournament, it's all about getting in a good rhythm and that's what we want to accomplish this week," Voss said. "We want to play every match with a high level of intensity and maintain that level at all times."