Sept. 29, 2003
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This Week: Oct. 3 vs. Loyola Chicago (6-9, 1-1 HL), 7:00 p.m.
Oct. 4 vs. Illinois-Chicago (7-10, 0-2 HL), 2:00 p.m.
Quick Sets: Cleveland State returns home this weekend to square off against Loyola Chicago and Illinois-Chicago...the Vikings will play eight of their 11 October matches in the friendly confines of Woodling Gymnasium...UW-Green Bay's 3-0 victory on Saturday was just the second time that CSU has been swept this season -- the other came at Valparaiso (Sept. 5)...when the Vikings took game one 36-34 at UW-Milwaukee on Friday, it marked the longest game that CSU has played since the NCAA went to the 30-point rally format in 2001.
Vikings Look To Blow Through Windy City Opponents: While history may not be on its side, Cleveland State is looking to defend its home court against Loyola Chicago and Illinois-Chicago this weekend. The Vikings are just 4-19 against the Ramblers and 7-34 versus the Flames. Loyola carries a 10-match winning streak against CSU into Friday's contest, while UIC has won 12 of the last 13 against the Vikings. However, the Chicago schools enter play this week with a combined overall record of only 13-19.
Head Coach Chuck Voss: Head coach Chuck Voss is in his fourth year at the helm of the Vikings. Voss has a 47-56 (.456) mark at Cleveland State and an 80-92 (.465) overall record in six seasons. Last year, he guided the Vikings to their first winning season since 1983. In addition, the 18 victories the 2002 squad posted were the most since the 1988 team won 20 contests.
Bouyer Has Up-And-Down Week: On Sept. 23, junior middle hitter Jamie Bouyer earned Horizon League Player of the Week honors for the second time in her career (Nov. 4, 2002 was the other), but then went on to hit just .143 in matches against UW-Milwaukee and UW-Green Bay. Despite her rough weekend, Bouyer's .398 hitting percentage still leads the league by nearly 80 points. The Bedford Heights, Ohio native has led the Vikings in kills in 13-of-17 matches this year, including a career-high 26 against both Northern Illinois and Virginia Tech on Sept. 20. Bouyer was named to the all-tournament team after leading the Vikings to second-place finishes at each of CSU's last three tournaments.
Great Wall Of Cleveland: It's no wonder that Viking opponents are hitting just .179 this year - they're having trouble getting the ball across the net. At 2.82 blocks per game, Cleveland State currently leads the Horizon League, well ahead of second-place Youngstown State (2.67). Individually, Jamie Bouyer (1.37), Danielle Siefker (1.32) and Nickole Kennedy (1.10) rank first, second and sixth among the league's blocking leaders. This season, the Vikings have been out-blocked only four times in 17 matches.
Green & White Among Nation's Best: Cleveland State stands among the national leaders in the most recent NCAA statistics posted on Sept. 23. Individually, junior middle hitter Jamie Bouyer is sixth in the country in hitting percentage (.441), while freshman middle hitter Danielle Siefker is 30th in blocks per game (1.42). As a team, the Vikings are 20th in blocks per game (2.95).
A Little On Last Week: The Vikings opened Horizon League play over the weekend with a pair of tough losses. On Friday at UW-Milwaukee, CSU won the first game 36-34 (its longest game since switching to 30-point rally score in 2001), only to have the Panthers sweep the next three frames. Junior middle blocker Jamie Bouyer had 15 kills against the Panthers, but hit just .143 on the weekend. The following day at UW-Green Bay, the Vikings scored 30 in both the second and third games, but lost each by identical 32-30 scores. Sophomore outside hitter Emily Clark paced the Vikings with a career-best 12 kills for the second consecutive match. UWM and UWGB finished the week with a combined overall record of 25-6.
Clark Does More Than Fill In: Stepping in at outside hitter after a back injury forced sophomore Alisa Hatcher out of the lineup, sophomore Emily Clark posted back-to-back career matches over the weekend. Friday at UW-Milwaukee, she tallied a career-high 12 kills to go along with eight digs and two blocks. The following afternoon at UW-Green Bay, Clark recorded 12 more kills, a .345 hitting percentage and a season-best 16 digs. On the week, she hit .297 with 3.43 kpg and 3.43 dpg.
Siefker In The Middle Of It All: Freshman middle hitter Danielle Siefker has left quite an impression on opponents so far this season. The Kalida, Ohio native was named to the all-tournament team after hitting .500 (30-3-54) with 26 blocks to lead the Vikings to a 4-0 mark at the season-opening Western New York Tournament. On the year, she is second in Horizon League with 1.32 bpg and is 10th in the conference with a .282 hitting percentage.
Bouyer, Crain Climb Career Charts: Despite having played just two-and-a-half seasons, juniors Jamie Bouyer and Kelly Crain are already leaving their mark on the Cleveland State career lists. Bouyer ranks third in block assists (268), eighth in solo blocks (49) and fifth in total blocks (317). Crain is currently third on the assist rankings with 2,745 and has a good shot of moving into second place by the end of the year.
New-Look Woodling Equals Same Result: The court may have looked different but the outcome was the same. When Cleveland State swept Oakland on Sept. 12, it marked the eighth consecutive home-opening victory (six of which have been sweeps) for the Vikings dating back to 1996.
Loose Ends: With their win over Virginia Tech on Sept. 20, the Vikings finished 3-0 against the Big East this year...in losses to Eastern Michigan and Northern Illinois, CSU was on the losing end of back-to-back five game matches for the first time since 1989.
Up Next: The Vikings host Robert Morris on Tuesday before hitting the road for a pair of conference matches. On Friday, Cleveland State travels to Butler, followed by a match the Saturday afternoon at Wright State.
