Nov. 20, 2010
Contact: Greg Murphy
MILWAUKEE, Wis. - Third-seeded Cleveland State received 15 kills and 21 digs from Kara Koch and 16 kills from Jackie Dabbelt, but could not overcome a strong fifth set by second-seeded Butler as the Vikings fell, 3-2, in the Horizon League Championship semifinals on Saturday afternoon in the Klotsche Center.
Match scores were 25-18, 16-25, 25-20, 27-29, 15-7.
CSU concludes its season with a 22-7 record, while Butler improved to 20-9 and advanced to Sunday's championship match to face fourth-seeded Valparaiso. The Crusaders swept top-seeded Milwaukee in Saturday's first semifinal.
Amy Benz concluded her brilliant career with 12 kills, while Amy Grabiec made 22 digs, finishing the season with 545 digs, the second highest single season total in school history. Brittany Holland added 15 digs and Amanda Medvetz had seven.
Jordan Goad dished out 43 assists with 12 digs.
The Vikings started strong in the first set, taking an 8-5 lead early on a Jackie Dabbelt kill. However, seven straight Butler points allowed the Bulldogs to assume a 12-8 lead and take control of the set, forcing Voss to use his first timeout of the set.
That didn't slow down the Bulldogs as they scored five of the next six points to take a 15-9 lead and make Voss call his second timeout of the set. But back-to-back blocks by Butler extended the lead to 17-9 before a Koch kill stopped the run. CSU could get no closer than five points the rest of the set as Butler took a 1-0 lead.
Butler hit .275 (12-1-40) in the first set with six blocks, contributing to the Vikings hitting just .065 (13-10-46). In contrast, CSU didn't have a block in the first set.
Koch got things going strong for the Vikings in set two with back-to-back kills, while Jackie Dabbelt and Megan Barhorst added one each to help CSU claim an early 4-1 lead. A Koch service ace pushed the lead to 7-2 before a Kourtney Volkmer kill gave the Vikings a seven point advantage at 11-4.
Butler would slowly begin to chip away at the deficit, pulling within three at 15-12, but a kill by Barhorst and two by Dabbelt pushed the lead back to six points (18-12) as Butler called a timeout. The Bulldogs scored the next two points to pull within four, but could get no closer as the Vikings evened the match at one set apiece.
CSU was much better with its offensive attacks in set two, hitting .268 (15-4-41), highlighted by Benz who had five kills in five attempts.
Butler took control of the third set early, using four kills sandwiched around a Koch kill, to take a 4-1 lead. But a 5-2 CSU run, which was capped by a Barhorst ace, tied the set at 6-6.
It would be all Butler from there as the Bulldogs scored the next seven points and nine of the next 11 to assume a 15-8 lead en route to winning the third set for a 2-1 lead.
The teams traded the first 25 points to begin the fourth set before a Butler attack error and Koch kill gave the Vikings a 14-12 lead, the first lead of the set by more than one point. Another Bulldog attack error extended CSU's lead to 15-12 and forced Butler to use its first timeout of the set.
Another BU attack error out of the timeout pushed the CSU advantage to 16-12, but the Bulldogs tallied six straight points to take an 18-16 lead and force the Vikings into a timeout.
The Vikings scored the first two points out of the timeout to even the set at 18-18 and after trading points, Butler took a 22-20 advantage on a CSU attack error. But CSU came back with three of the next four points, making it 23-23 on a Koch kill.
A Jessica Wolfe kill set up match point for the Bulldogs, but Wolfe's service error kept the match alive. Koch and Marie Frease followed with a block, setting up set point for the Vikings, but Jalesa Lee's kill evened it at 25-25.
The teams continued to trade points until CSU clinched it with a Butler attack error and Lindsey Griffith kill.
Butler assumed quick control of the fifth set behind the strong play of Maggie Harbison, who had three kills in helping the Bulldogs to a quick 4-1 lead. Butler didn't stop there, scoring four straight points after a CSU timeout to take an 8-1 lead as the teams changed sides.
CSU would get within five points at 10-5, but no closer the rest of the set.
