Nov. 18, 2006
FAIRBORN, Ohio - Cleveland State came up just short in its bid to reach the Horizon League championship match for the second time in three years, falling to UIC, 30-28, 25-30, 30-23, 26-30, 14-16. With the loss, the Vikings' season comes to a close at 19-9. Meanwhile, the Flames (17-16) will face either UW-Milwaukee or UW-Green Bay in Sunday's title contest.
Freshman Alexis Korovich led CSU with 20 kills and 13 digs, while freshman Liz Fazio tallied 17 kills. Freshman Beth Greulich added 13 kills while senior Danielle Siefker and sophomore Jenni Ramminger combined on 16 kills and 11 blocks.
UIC's Ambria Springer led all players with 23 kills and nine blocks, while Amanda Kenny (18 kills, 13 digs and Katarina Nedeljkovic (14, 14) both tallied double-doubles.
"It was a great match, unfortunately we came up just a little bit short," CSU head coach Chuck Voss said. "Both teams fought right to the end. I'm really proud of the way we played this season."
For the second straight day, the Vikings dug themselves an early hole in the opening game, falling behind 5-0 just minutes into the match. Once again, CSU clawed its way back in, knotting the score at 9-9. The teams proceeded to trade points in a game that featured 11 ties and three lead changes. With the score tied at 24-24, the Vikings opened up a three-point lead thanks to an ace and a kill by Fazio and a UIC attack error. The Flames drew to within one (29-28), but a UIC attack error closed out the frame. Fazio and Korovich paced CSU with six and five kills respectively.
Cleveland State turned the tables in game two, leading 5-0 and 11-6, before the Flames rallied to tie the score at 15-15. The Vikings pushed back ahead 19-16 but UIC closed out the frame with a 14-6 run to even the match at one game apiece. CSU hit .263 (13-3-38) for the game, but UIC countered with a .321 hitting percentage (19-4-48), with Springer accounting for eight of the kills (8-0-13).
The teams traded points early on in the third game. However, with the score tied at 12-12, the Vikings opened up a sizeable lead with a 9-1 burst that was fueled by five hitting errors by the Flames. UIC rallied to draw within four at 25-21, but a pair of kills and an ace by Korovich stemmed the tide. CSU turned things around offensively in the frame, hitting .333 (19-3-48) -- with six kills from Korovich -- to just a .133 mark for the Flames (14-8-45).
After quickly falling behind 3-0 in game four, UIC rattled off nine of the next 12 points to take an advantage they would never relinquish. The Vikings drew within one at 19-18, but could get no closer. The Flames used five kills each from Springer and Kenny to force the fifth and decisive game.
Neither team led by more than a point in the fifth game until CSU edged ahead 11-9. However, the Flames quickly knotted the score on a service error and a block. After a pair of Greulich kills, the Vikings served for the match at 14-12. UIC answered though on kills from Springer and Kenny, before ending the match on a block and another Kenny kill.
