Oct. 11, 2011
Contact: Renee Adam
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Match 19
Wright State (2-18, 1-7 HL) at Cleveland State (13-5, 6-1 HL)
Date: Friday, Oct. 14, 2011
Time: 7:00 p.m. EDT
Site: Woodling Gym (3,000), Cleveland, Ohio
Series: WSU leads, 32-26
Last Mtg.: CSU 3 vs. WSU 0 (9/17/11)
Match 20
Butler (8-12, 4-4 HL) at Cleveland State
Date: Saturday, Oct. 15, 2011
Time: 4:00 p.m. EDT
Site: Woodling Gym (3,000), Cleveland, Ohio
Series: Butler leads, 24-13
Last Mtg.: CSU 3 vs. Butler 0 (9/16/11)
QUICK SETS: The Cleveland State volleyball team will return to Woodling Gym this weekend, as the Vikings host Wright State and Butler in a pair of Horizon League contests. CSU enters the weekend ranked second in the league standings with a 6-1 record, trailing Milwaukee who owns an 8-0 mark. The Vikings will face Wright State at 7:00 p.m. on Friday, October 14 and will then face Butler at 4:00 p.m. on Saturday, October 15.
REVIEWING LAST WEEK: The Vikings were perfect on the road last week, earning three victories in league play after defeating Green Bay, Valparaiso and UIC. Following are brief recaps of those matches:
Match 16: CSU 3, Green Bay 0 (Oct. 4, Green Bay, Wisc.)
Behind a career-high tying 13 kills from Marie Frease the Vikings were able to sweep the Phoenix, 3-0. Along with Frease, Megan Barhorst tallied nine kills to lead the CSU offense, while Amy Grabiec posted 13 digs and Kara Koch added 10.
Match 17: CSU 3, Valparaiso 2 (Oct. 8, Valparaiso, Ind.)
Three Vikings posted double-digit kills to lead a strong CSU offense against the Crusaders, including Kara Koch who posted a season-high 23 kills, Kerry Winchester who tallied a career-high 16 and Jackie Dabbelt who added 12. Jordan Goad recorded a season-best 53 assists while the Viking defense was led by Amy Grabiec who tallied a season-best 30 digs.
Match 18: CSU 3, UIC 0 (Oct. 9, Chicago, Ill.)
Behind the offensive duo of Kara Koch (16 kills) and Marie Frease (12 kills) the Vikings were able to notch their third straight road win in league play against the Flames. The sweep also marked the fifth in Horizon League action for CSU.
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 (9.97 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 (3.00 aps) who filled in for Goad by making five starts a year ago. Junior outside hitter Kara Koch (3.97 kps, 2.94 dps), a first team all-league pick last year, is back as the most experienced attacker on the team. Senior Kourtney Volkmer (0.88 kps), sophomore Kerry Winchester (2.11 kps) and freshman Ally Beck (0.57 kps) will all fight for time. Sophomore Jackie Dabbelt (.338, 2.18 kps) will man the right side after earning a spot on the all-newcomer team last year, while senior Megan Barhorst (1.84 kps, 0.74 bps), junior Marie Frease (.323, 2.27 kps) and freshmen Maggie Hannon and Molly King will patrol the middle. Senior Amy Grabiec (4.24 dps) returns as the libero for the second straight season to lead a talented and experienced backrow. Also returning are juniors Brittany Holland (2.26 dps) and Amanda Medvetz (2.06 dps) and senior Whitney Dalessandro (0.40 dps).
KOCH PICKS UP WEEKLY AWARD: Kara Koch was named the Horizon League Offensive Player of the Week on Monday (Oct. 10) after leading the Vikings to three league wins last week. Koch combined for 43 kills and 48 digs as CSU defeated Green Bay, Valparaiso and UIC. She posted a season-high 23 kills and a season-best 21 digs against the Crusaders and then tallied 16 kills and 17 digs against the Flames.
VIKINGS OFF TO STRONG START: After a perfect 3-0 record during action last week, the Vikings have now won six of their first seven league matches for the fourth time since head coach Chuck Voss began in 2000. CSU also recorded a 6-1 record through the first half of league play during the 2007, 2009 and 2010 seasons. The Vikings went on to post a league record of 13-3 during '07 and '09 and an 11-5 mark during '10.
...PERFECT ON THE ROAD: CSU also owns a perfect 6-0 record on the road during league play this year, marking the second time that the Vikings have gone undefeated on the road to begin league play. If the Vikings continue this trend they will become the first team to post a perfect record on the road since Voss began in 2000.
DOUBLE OR NOTHING: Kara Koch notched a pair of double-doubles last week and now has six on the season. Koch tallied 23 kills and 21 digs against Valparaiso and recorded 16 kills and 17 digs at UIC. She is one of six Vikings to post six or more double-doubles in a season over the past five years.
LEAGUE LEADERS: After 18 matches this season, CSU has a strong hold on the Horizon League statistical categories, as a Viking ranks in the top-five in all but one category. Below are the Vikings that rank in the top-five:
Hitting %: Jackie Dabbelt-2nd-.338 & Marie Frease-4th-.323
Kills: Kara Koch-2nd-3.97/set
Assists: Jordan Goad-4th-9.97/set
Service Aces: Megan Barhorst-3rd-0.39/set
Digs: Amy Grabiec-5th-4.24/set
GRABIEC CLIMBS CSU CAREER RECORD LIST: After posting 51 digs through three matches last week, including a season-high of 30 at Valparaiso, senior Amy Grabiec now ranks third on CSU's career digs list with 1,297. Grabiec is one of just three Vikings to reach the 1,200 dig milestone and has now posted 30 or more digs in two matches throughout her career.
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 seven weeks, sophomore Jackie Dabbelt ranks second in the league in attack percentage at .338. Milwaukee's Rachel Neuberger is first at .361.
EARLIER THIS SEASON: The Vikings will be meeting Wright State and Butler for the second time this season, as CSU earned 3-0 sweeps over both teams earlier this year. Kara Koch had a match-high 17 kills against the Bulldogs while Marie Frease had a team-best 13 kills against the Raiders. Amanda Medvetz had a team-high 14 digs at Butler and Amy Grabiec had a team-best 12 digs at Wright State.
NEXT UP: The Vikings will travel to Loyola for a midweek match-up on Tuesday, October 18 before hosting Youngstown State on Friday, October 21.
