Oct. 17, 2011
Match 21
Cleveland State (14-6, 7-2 HL) at Loyola (4-13, 1-7 HL)
Date: Tuesday, Oct. 18, 2011
Time: 7:00 p.m. EDT
Site: Halas Sports Center (800), Chicago, Ill.
Series: Loyola leads, 26-10
Last Mtg.: CSU 3 vs. Loyola 0 (11/5/10)
Match 22
Youngstown State (2-20, 1-9 HL) at Cleveland State
Date: Friday, Oct. 21, 2011
Time: 7:00 p.m. EDT
Site: Woodling Gym (3,000), Cleveland, Ohio
Series: CSU leads, 49-13
Last Mtg.: CSU 3 vs. YSU 0 (9/23/11)
QUICK SETS: Following a brief two-match homestand, the Cleveland State volleyball team will hit the road for a mid-week contest on Tuesday, October 18 when the Vikings travel to Loyola for a 7:00 p.m. EST match. CSU will then return to Woodling Gym on Friday, October 21 as the Vikings host Youngstown State in a 7:00 p.m. contest.
REVIEWING LAST WEEK: The Vikings split their contests last week, as they swept Wright State and fell to Butler. Following are brief recaps of those matches:
Match 19: CSU 3, Wright State 0 (Oct. 14, Cleveland, Ohio.)
The Vikings extended their win-streak to four matches last Friday with a 3-0 sweep of visiting Wright State. Kara Koch notched her seventh double-double of the season, posting a match-high 13 kills and 11 digs, while Megan Barhorst added 10 kills and Amy Grabiec added 12 digs.
Match 20: Butler 3, CSU 0 (Oct. 15, Cleveland, Ohio.)
CSU dropped just its second Horizon League contest of the season, as the Vikings fell to Butler in straight sets. Ally Beck posted a career-high seven kills, while Kara Koch added 16 and Amy Grabiec had a team-high 16 digs.
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 (10.18 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 (2.70 aps) who filled in for Goad by making five starts a year ago. Junior outside hitter Kara Koch (4.04 kps, 2.93 dps), a first team all-league pick last year, is back as the most experienced attacker on the team. Senior Kourtney Volkmer (1.18 kps) and freshman Ally Beck (1.08 kps) will both fight for time. Sophomore Jackie Dabbelt (.332, 2.22 kps) will man the right side after earning a spot on the all-newcomer team last year, while senior Megan Barhorst (1.89 kps, 0.74 bps), junior Marie Frease (.310, 2.26 kps) and freshmen Maggie Hannon and Molly King will patrol the middle. Senior Amy Grabiec (4.28 dps) returns as the libero for the second straight season to lead a talented and experienced backrow. Also returning are juniors Brittany Holland (2.16 dps) and Amanda Medvetz (2.15 dps) and senior Whitney Dalessandro (0.40 dps).
GOAD IN THE CSU RECORD BOOKS: During the first set against Butler last Saturday (Oct. 15), Jordan Goad moved into second place on the all-time career assists list as she now has 4,111. She passed Erinn Kingman who ended her CSU career with 4,077 assists. As a sophomore Goad totaled 1,332 assists, the third most in a season in program history and ranks fourth in the Horizon League averaging 10.18 assists per set this season.
PERFECT ON THE ROAD: CSU 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 her seventh double-double of the season last Friday (Oct. 14) against Wright State, as she tallied 13 kills and 11 digs. She is one of six Vikings to post seven or more double-doubles in a season over the past five years.
LEAGUE LEADERS: After 20 matches this season, CSU has a strong hold on the Horizon League statistical categories, as a Viking ranks in the top-five in four of the six categories. Below are the Vikings that rank in the top-five:
Hitting %: Jackie Dabbelt-1st-.332 & Marie Frease-4th-.310
Kills: Kara Koch-2nd-4.04/set
Assists: Jordan Goad-4th-10.18/set
Service Aces: Megan Barhorst-3rd-0.38/set
GRABIEC CLIMBS CSU CAREER RECORD LIST: After posting 28 digs in two matches last week, senior Amy Grabiec ranks third on CSU's career digs list with 1,325. Grabiec is one of just three Vikings to reach the 1,300-dig milestone, and is 82 digs away from taking over second place. Grabiec ranks sixth in the Horizon League, averaging 4.28 digs per set.
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 eight weeks, sophomore Jackie Dabbelt now leads the league in attack percentage at .332. UIC's Sara Sternard is close behind with a .331 attack percentage, while Milwaukee's Rachel Neuberger is third (.330).
LEAGUE STANDINGS: With four weeks left in the regular season, CSU stands in second place in the league standings. The vikings trail Milwaukee, who is undefeated in league play (10-0) and lead Valparaiso (6-3) and Butler (6-4). CSU still has to host Milwuakee and Valparaiso during the second half of the league schedule, while the Vikings have already faced Butler twice this season.
LOYOLA HISTORY: Although Loyola holds the overall series lead, 26-10, the Vikings hold the advantage over the past six seasons as they have won nine out of the last 15 contests. Seven of those wins have come in three sets, while the other two were five-set victories.
EARLIER THIS SEASON: The Vikings will be meeting Youngstown State for the second time this season on Friday, as CSU earned a 3-0 victory at YSU on September 23. The victory over the Penguins earlier this season gave head coach Chuck Voss his 200th career win with the Vikings, as he is now just one of two current Horizon League coaches to reach the 200-win milestone with their respective teams (Carin Avery, Valparaiso).
NEXT UP: The Vikings will travel to Milwaukee, Wisc. to face the league-leading Panthers in their lone contest of the week. CSU will face Milwaukee on Saturday, October 29 in a 5:00 p.m. EST match.
