Oct. 22, 2007
Contact: Greg Murphy
Complete Release in PDF Format
Download Free Acrobat Reader
Match #23 - at Loyola
Date: Friday, October 26, 2007
Time: 8:00 pm EST
Location: Alumni Gym (2,000)
Last Mtg.: @ CSU 3, Loyola 0 (Oct. 6, 2007)
Match #24 - at UIC
Date: Saturday, October 27, 2007
Time: 5:00 pm EST
Location: Flames Athletic Center (250)
Last Mtg.: @ CSU 3, UIC 2 (Oct. 5, 2007)
Quick Sets: Cleveland State hits the road for the final time in the regular season when it travels to Chicago, Ill., for a pair of matches. The Vikings will play at Loyola on Friday (Oct. 26) at 8:00 pm EDT and then travel to UIC on Saturday (Oct. 27) for a 5:00 pm EDT match.
Last Time Out: The Vikings were in action twice last week. Following are quick recaps of those matches.
Match #22 - Milwaukee 3, CSU 2 (Oct. 19 - Milwaukee, Wis.)
Cleveland State's nine-match win streak was snapped in a 3-2 loss at Milwaukee. Game five featured four lead changes and six ties, the final one coming at 7-7. From there, the Panthers scored four straight to seize control. Amy Benz finished with a career-best 20 kills, while Mel Snyder and Alexis Korovich had double-doubles.
Match #23 - CSU 3, Green Bay 1 (Oct. 20 - Green Bay, Wis.)
Beth Greulich tallied a career-high 21 kills and the Vikings rebounded from a sluggish start to earn a 29-31, 30-27, 30-18, 30-23 win over Green Bay. Alexis Korovich and Mel Snyder finished with double-doubles, as CSU held the Phoenix to a .116 hitting percentage, including just .026 in game three and .062 in game four.
Series History: The Vikings are 14-37 all-time against UIC and 8-25 against Loyola. However, CSU has won four of the last five meetings between both schools, including a 3-2 win over UIC on Oct. 6 and a 3-0 triumph over Loyola on Oct. 6.
Head Coach Chuck Voss: In his eighth year at the helm of the Vikings, head coach Chuck Voss has methodically built the Viking program from the ground up. He inherited a team that had not enjoyed a winning season in 17 years and turned things around in his third season (2002) when he led the Vikings to an 18-16 mark. Since then, CSU has recorded six straight winning seasons (2002-07), the most since the program opened with seven straight (1972-78). Voss has a 125-103 (.548) mark at CSU and moved into second place on the all-time wins list at CSU in a Sept. 21 win at Youngstown State. Voss, who has a 158-139 (.532) overall record in nine seasons, has mentored the only two All-Americans in school history, the 2005 Horizon League Player of the Year, 10 first team all-league picks, seven all-newcomer team members and three league Co-Newcomer of the Year picks.
Success Continues: With its win over Butler on Oct. 12, CSU clinched its sixth consecutive winning season, which is the second longest streak in school-history (2002-07). It trails the seven straight winning campaigns from 1972-78.
Feeling Hot, Hot, Hot: At 17-6, CSU has recorded its best 23-match start since the 1982 team opened the season at 18-5.
Reunited: Cleveland State will welcome back former players for Alumni Day on Nov. 3 when the Vikings host Valparaiso at 4:00 pm at Woodling Gym. A dinner for alumni will be held following the match with the Crusaders.
Efficiency Breeds Success: CSU has outhit its opponents by 56 points (.219-.163) this season and has posted a better hitting percentage than their opponent all but five times in 2007. CSU is 0-5 in those matches. Individually, Amy Benz (.333), Beth Greulich (.301) and Jenni Ramminger (.287) rank first, fourth and sixth in the conference.
Road Warriors: Heading into their final regular season weekend on the road, CSU is 4-2 in conference matches away from home. That is one victory shy of equaling the program record for most league road wins in a season (5) set in 2005. Even more impressive is that the Vikings have played 16 of their 23 matches away from Woodling Gym and are 11-5 in those contests.
It's Been Awhile: You'll have to forgive the Vikings if they didn't know how to react after Friday's (Oct. 19) 3-2 loss at Milwaukee. After all, it was the first time CSU dropped a match since a five-set loss at Wright State on Sept. 14, a string of nine straight matches. The nine-match winning streak was the third longest in school-history.
Great Wall of Cleveland: The Viking defense has been making it difficult for opposing hitters this season as they rank second in the league in blocks (2.61 bpg) and opponent hitting percentage (.163). CSU has held four opponents under a .100 hitting percentage this season and limited Murray State to a season-low .008 (32-31-118). In addition, the Vikings 235 blocks this season already rank as the sixth most in a single-season in program history, while their 406 blocking assists are the fourth best for a single-season.
Horizon Success: At 10-2 in conference play, the Vikings are on the verge of achieving the most conference wins in a single-season. The record is 11 set by the 2005 squad.
Get That First One: Getting off to a good start has been a key to CSU's success this season as the Vikings have won game one in 16 of their 23 matches. CSU went on to win 13 of those matches, including nine sweeps.
20-20 Vision: The number 20 has been unkind to the Vikings recently as the 2005 and 2006 team's each win 19 matches, but could not reach the 20-win plateau before bowing out in the league tournament. With three more wins this season - and CSU is guaranteed at least six more matches - the Vikings would record 20 wins for the first time since the 1988 team went 20-22.
Set it Off: Mel Snyder is in her third season as the starting setter and is creeping up the all-time assist list at CSU as she ranks third all-time with 3,662 assists. Snyder, who is 415 helpers shy of second place, leads the league in assists (11.72 apg), while her 1,055 assists this season are the ninth best in a single-season at CSU. She has also guided the Vikings to the best hitting percentage in the conference this season at .219.
She Can Dig It: Jordan Bateman recorded 45 digs in two matches over the weekend to run her season total to 466 and surpass her own school-record of 457 digs set last season. Bateman recorded a career-best 36 digs against Milwaukee on Sept. 29, which was just one shy of tying Elisa Caraulia's school record of 37 digs against Kent State in 1987. Ranking second in the conference in digs (5.18 dpg), Bateman has posted at least 20 digs 13 times this season and could threaten the Horizon League single-season record of 579 digs set in 1992 by Stacy Gilligan of Duquesne.
Ramminger Returns: After missing three matches with a sprained ankle, Jenni Ramminger returned to the lineup over the weekend in Wisconsin and totaled 12 kills and four blocks. The Vikings managed to post a 3-0 mark without Ramminger in the lineup, but she continues to be a big part of CSU's success this season, ranking sixth in the conference in hitting percentage (.287) and among the top three on the team in hitting percentage, kills (232), aces (25) and blocks (77). Ramminger is a two-time Horizon League Player of the Week and was selected as the CSU Athlete of the Month for September.
Liking the League: Beth Greulich, who earned Horizon League Newcomer of the Year and first team all-league honors last season, has proven that her rookie season was no fluke by picking up her game during league play. After hitting a respectable .285 and averaging 2.68 kills and 0.85 blocks per game in 11 nonconference matches, Greulich has raised those numbers to .312, 3.08 kills and 1.00 blocks per game in 12 conference matches. She amassed a career-high 21 kills in Saturday's (Oct. 20) win at Green Bay, while hitting .514 as she committed just two errors in 37 attempts. The night before, Greulich tied her career-high with 38 swings at Milwaukee.
Double Up: Alexis Korovich has been on a recent tear as she has tallied double-doubles in 11 of the last 12 matches, including seven straight. During that streak, Korovich has averaged 13.3 kills and 15.6 digs per match. She is second on the squad with 256 kills after setting a season-high with 20 in an Oct. 13 win over Wright State. In 12 conference matches, Korovich has averaged 3.24 kills and 3.82 digs per game, while recording 13 aces and 27 blocks.
A New Mercedes: Freshman Amy Benz is one of the favorites to earn Horizon League Newcomer of the Year honors, which would make her the fourth Viking in the last six seasons to capture the award. Benz leads the league in hitting percentage (.333) and is second in blocks (1.47). Benz, who posted a career-best 20 kills in Friday's (Oct. 19) loss at Milwaukee, is slowly moving up the single season record books at CSU. She is fifth in block assists (117), seventh in total blocks (132) and sixth in hitting percentage.
Aces Wild: CSU has ripped off 54 aces over the last six matches, including a season-high 13 against Wright State on Oct. 13, to move into second in the Horizon League rankings (1.84 sapg). During that same time, the Vikings have limited its opposition to just 18 aces. The Vikings did not allow a service ace to Butler on Oct. 12, marking the first time since Sept. 9, 2006 against Indiana State that an opponent did not record an ace.
Share the Wealth: Mel Snyder has quarterbacked the Viking offense to the best hitting percentage in the league this season (.219). In addition, she is getting each player involved offensively as CSU is the only team in the Horizon League that has six players with at least 170 kills this season. Beth Greulich leads the way with 261 and is followed by Alexis Korovich (256), Jenni Ramminger (232), Liz Fazio (205), Amy Benz (199) and Kayla Lefeld (173). Snyder has added 75 kills of her own for good measure.
This Team is Smart: The Vikings have been honored for their exceptional performance in the classroom as a recipient of the Game Time/American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Team Academic Award for the third straight year. CSU, which is just one of just 55 Division I schools to earn the award, carried a team grade point average of 3.646 during the 2006-07 school year. The award, which began during the 1992-93 academic year, honors college and high school teams that display excellence in the classroom by maintaining a cumulative 3.30 GPA or better during the school year.
Up Next: CSU returns home to start a regular season ending three-match homestand with a Saturday (Nov. 3) match against Valparaiso at 4:00 pm and a nonconference match with Dayton on Sunday (Nov. 4) at 1:00 pm.
