Oct. 25, 2011
Contact: Renee Adam
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Match 23
Cleveland State (16-6, 9-2 HL) at Milwaukee (19-4, 12-0 HL)
Date: Saturday, Oct. 29, 2011
Time: 5:00 p.m. EDT
Site: Klotsche Center (2,500), Milwaukee, Wis.
Series: UWM leads, 35-8
Last Mtg.: UWM 3, CSU 0 (9/30/11)
QUICK SETS: Following a pair of victories last week, the Cleveland State volleyball team will hit the road for the final time during the regular season, as the Vikings travel to Milwaukee for their lone contest this weekend. CSU will face the league-leading Panthers at 5:00 p.m. EST on Saturday (Oct. 29). UWM enters the weekend on a 12-match win streak, and as the only undefeated team in league play (12-0), while the Vikings are on a two-match win streak and currently in second place in the league standings.
REVIEWING LAST WEEK: The Vikings got back on the winning track last week, recording two 3-0 sweeps over Loyola and Youngstown State. Following are brief recaps of those matches:
Match 21: CSU 3, Loyola 0 (Oct. 18, Loyola, Ill.)
Behind a career-high 14 kills from junior Marie Frease the Vikings were able to get back on the winning track with a 3-0 sweep at Loyola. Along with Frease, the Viking offense was led by Megan Barhorst, who posted 11 kills on a career-high .786 hitting percentage.
Match 22: CSU 3, Youngstown State 0 (Oct. 21, Cleveland, Ohio)
With a balanced offensive effort and a .381 team hitting percentage, the Vikings were able to sweep Youngstown State for the second time this season. Kara Koch and Megan Barhorst each tallied eight kills, while Ally Beck tied her career-high with seven.
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 (10.24 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 (2.53 aps) who filled in for Goad by making five starts a year ago. Junior outside hitter Kara Koch (3.89 kps, 2.97 dps), a first team all-league pick last year, is back as the most experienced attacker on the team. Senior Kourtney Volkmer (1.00 kps) and freshman Ally Beck (1.33 kps) will both fight for time. Sophomore Jackie Dabbelt (.332, 2.19 kps) will man the right side after earning a spot on the all-newcomer team last year, while senior Megan Barhorst (2.00 kps, 0.75 bps), junior Marie Frease (.328, 2.35 kps) and freshmen Maggie Hannon and Molly King will patrol the middle. Senior Amy Grabiec (4.14 dps) returns as the libero for the second straight season to lead a talented and experienced backrow. Also returning are juniors Brittany Holland (2.12 dps) and Amanda Medvetz (2.04 dps) and senior Whitney Dalessandro (0.33 dps).
PERFECT ON THE ROAD: Following Tuesday's (Oct. 18) 3-0 victory at Loyola, CSU owns a perfect 7-0 record on the road during league play this season. The 7-0 record marks the first time that the Vikings have gone undefeated through the first seven league road matches since Chuck Voss became head coach in 2000.
...RECORD TO BE TESTED AT MILWAUKEE: CSU's undefeated streak on the road will be tested this weekend at Milwaukee, as the Panthers have yet to lose a league match at home this season. The Panthers, who have won eight out of 10 matches in the Klotsche Center this year, own an 87-24 record at home over the past 10 seasons. The Vikings have not been able to secure a win in Milwaukee since the 1992 season, when CSU earned a 3-1 victory.
LEAGUE LEADERS: After nine weeks of play, 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-2nd-.328b
Kills: Kara Koch-2nd-3.89/set
Assists: Jordan Goad-4th-10.24/set
Service Aces: Megan Barhorst-1st-0.38/set
CHASING 1,000: Junior Kara Koch is closing in on her 1,000th kill at Cleveland State, as she enters the final stretch of the regular season with 936 kills. Koch will become the 14th Viking to reach the milestone and the 10th under head coach Chuck Voss. This season, Koch has been averaging 3.89 kills per set, and has tallied 15 or more nine times, including a season-high of 23 at Valparaiso (Oct. 8).
CSU IN THE NCAA STATS: After leading the Horizon League in assists (12.84 per set), service aces (1.64) and hitting percentage (.232) this week, the Vikings also rank in the top-50 in two of the categories in the NCAA weekly statistics. CSU ranks 19th in service aces and 42nd in assists among Division I schools, and is the only Horizon League school to rank in the top-50 in both categories.
GRABIEC CLIMBS CSU CAREER RECORD LIST: With 306 digs on the season, senior Amy Grabiec ranks third on CSU's all-time career digs list with 1,340. Grabiec is one of just three Vikings to reach the 1,300-dig milestone, and is 67 digs away from taking over second place. Grabiec ranks sixth in the Horizon League, averaging 4.14 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?: With three weeks left in the regular season, sophomore Jackie Dabbelt leads the league in attack percentage at .332, while junior Marie Frease is second with a .328 attack percentage.
...VIKINGS AS A TEAM: As a team, CSU leads the league with a .232 attack percentage with 1,015 kills on the season. The Vikings are one of just three teams in the league that have at least five players with 100 or more kills, and have posted a team hitting percentage of .275 or better during 10 matches this year.
EARLIER THIS SEASON: The Vikings will be meeting Milwaukee for the second time this season, as CSU dropped a three set match to the Panthers on September 30. The 3-0 loss to Milwaukee was the first in Horizon League play for the Vikings this season, while it also snapped a four-match win streak.
NEXT UP: The Vikings will close out the 2011 regular season with a four-match homestand, beginning with UIC and Valparaiso. CSU will host the Flames on Friday, November 4 at 7:00 p.m. and will then host the Crusaders on Saturday, November 5 at 4:00 p.m.
