Oct. 3, 2011
Contact: Renee Adam
Match 16
Cleveland State (10-5, 3-1 HL) at Green Bay (6-10, 2-2 HL)
Date: Tuesday, Oct. 4, 2011
Time: 8:00 p.m. EDT
Site: Kress Events Center (4,000), Green Bay, Wisc.
Series: CSU leads, 28-15
Last Mtg.: CSU 3 vs.Green Bay 2 (10/22/10)
Match 17
Cleveland State at Valparaiso (13-6, 4-1 HL)
Date: Saturday, Oct. 8, 2011
Time: 6:00 p.m. EDT
Site: Athletics-Recreation Center (5,000), Valparaiso, Ind.
Series: Valpo leads, 15-9
Last Mtg.: Valpo 3 vs.CSU 0 (11/6/10)
Match 18
Cleveland State at UIC (11-5, 4-1 HL)
Date: Sunday, Oct. 9, 2011
Time: 5:00 p.m. EDT
Site: Flames Athletic Center (500), Chicago, Ill.
Series: UIC leads, 41-20
Last Mtg.: CSU 3 vs.UIC 0 (11/19/10)
QUICK SETS: The Cleveland State volleyball team will once again hit the road for three Horizon League contests this week, as the Vikings are set to face Green Bay, Valparaiso and UIC. CSU will open the week with an 8:00 p.m. EST contest on Tuesday (Oct. 4) evening in Green Bay, before traveling to Valparaiso (Sat. Oct. 8 - 6:00 p.m.) and UIC (Sun. Oct. 9 - 5:00 p.m.) for a pair of weekend matches.
REVIEWING LAST WEEK: Cleveland State dropped its first Horizon League contest of the season last Friday (Sept. 30), as the Vikings fell to league-leader Milwaukee. Following is a brief recap of that match:
Match 15: Milwaukee 3, CSU 0 (Sept. 30, Cleveland, Ohio)
For just the fifth time this season the Vikings were outmatched in attack percentage, as CSU was held to .136, their third lowest attack percentage of the season. Megan Barhorst had a team-high 10 kills and three blocks, while Marie Frease added seven kills and four block assists.
PREVIEWING THE VIKINGS: Expectations are once again high for the Vikings as four starters and the libero are back from last year's 22-7 team as CSU sets out to reach the league title match for the fourth time in the last five seasons. Headlining the returnees is senior setter Jordan Goad (9.60 aps) who earned first team All-Horizon League honors for the second straight season last year. She will be backed up by sophomore Annie Djukic (3.50 aps) who filled in for Goad by making five starts a year ago. Junior outside hitter Kara Koch (3.98 kps, 2.63 dps), a first team all-league pick last year, is back as the most experienced attacker on the team. Senior Kourtney Volkmer (0.40 kps), sophomore Kerry Winchester (2.04 kps) and freshman Ally Beck (0.57 kps) will all fight for time. Sophomore Jackie Dabbelt (.356, 2.18 kps) will man the right side after earning a spot on the all-newcomer team last year, while senior Megan Barhorst (1.87 kps, 0.76 bps), junior Marie Frease (.305, 2.20 kps) and freshmen Maggie Hannon and Molly King will patrol the middle. Senior Amy Grabiec (4.16 dps) returns as the libero for the second straight season to lead a talented and experienced backrow. Also returning are juniors Brittany Holland (2.40 dps) and Amanda Medvetz (2.00 dps) and senior Whitney Dalessandro (0.40 dps).
CSU OFFENSE: The Vikings have a league-best .224 team hitting percentage so far this year, as CSU has tallied 677 kills through 15 matches. Not only do the Vikings lead the league in hitting percentage, they also rank third in opponent hitting percentage (.175) behind Valparaiso (.157) and Milwaukee (.168). CSU has held its opponents to a .150 hitting percentage or lower six times this year, with a season-low of .108 against DePaul.
VIKINGS STRONG ON THE SERVE: Throughout the first half of the 2011 season the Vikings have been able to put up some quick points, as they have posted 88 service aces and lead the Horizon League averaging 1.73 aces per set.
...ACES ALL AROUND: Cleveland State has a league-best six athletes who have posted double digit aces so far this year, includig Megan Barhorst who has recorded a team-high 19. Valparaiso is next with five athletes posting at least 10 service aces, while Milwaukee, UIC and Youngstown State each have four.
VOSS EARNS 200TH CAREER VICTORY AT CSU: Head coach Chuck Voss, who is in his 12th year at CSU, earned his 200th career victory at Cleveland State on September 23, as the Vikings swept Youngstown State, 3-0. Voss owns a 200-145 career mark with the Vikings and is just one of two current Horizon League coaches to reach the 200-win milestone with their respective teams (Carin Avery, Valparaiso). He is 233-181 overall in 14 years, also spending two years at Mount Mercy.
LEAGUE LEADERS: After 15 matches this season, CSU has a strong hold on the Horizon League statistical categories, as a Viking ranks in the top-five in all six categories. Below are the Vikings that rank in the top-five:
Hitting %: Jackie Dabbelt-2nd-.356
Kills: Kara Koch-2nd-3.98/set
Assists: Jordan Goad-5th-9.60/set
Service Aces: Megan Barhorst-T-1st-0.41/set
Blocks: Marie Frease-3rd-1.02/set
Digs: Amy Grabiec-4th-4.16/set
KOCH RECORDS 200th KILL: With her six kills against Milwaukee last Friday (Sept. 30), Kara Koch reached the 200 kill mark for the season, becoming the first Viking to reach the milestone this year. Koch has now tallied at least 200 kills in each of her seasons at CSU, recording a career-high 409 last year as a sophomore.
...THREE VIKINGS WITH 100: Three other Vikings have posted at least 100 kills on the year, including Marie Frease (112 kills), Jackie Dabbelt (111 kills) and Kerry Winchester (104 kills). It marks the first time for Frease and Winchester to reach the 100 kill mark, while it is the second straight season that Dabbelt has posted at least 100 kills, recording 269 last year as a freshman.
ON THE ATTACK: When it comes to accurate hitters in the league, it doesn't get much better than CSU as a Viking has led the league in attack percentage in each of the last nine seasons. It began with Jamie Bouyer leading the league in 2003 (.361) and 2004 (.368) and continued with Nickole Kennedy in 2005 (.318), Beth Greulich in 2006 (.364), Amy Benz in 2007 (.334) and 2008 (.303) and Greulich (.328) last season. Benz led the league for the third time in her career last season at .318.
...WHAT ABOUT THIS YEAR?: After six weeks, sophomore Jackie Dabbelt ranks second in the league in attack percentage at .356. Milwaukee's Rachel Neuberger is first at .367.
2011 ALL-TOURNEY PICKS: Five Vikings earned All-Tournament Team honors this season, including Amy Grabiec who was named the MVP of the CSU Invitational presented by the Courtyard Marriott Independence. Joining her on the CSU all-tournament team was Jordan Goad, while the duo of Kara Koch and Jackie Dabbelt were both named to the Spartan Classic all-tournament team and Marie Frease and Grabiec earned a spot on the Hokie Tournament team.
NEXT UP: The Vikings will return to Woodling Gym for a pair of league contests against Wright State and Butler next weekend, hosting the Raiders in a 7:00 p.m. contest on Friday, October 14 and hosting the Bulldogs in a 4:00 p.m. contest on Saturday, October 15.
