Nov. 11, 2010
Contact: Greg Murphy
Matches 26-27
Cleveland State (20-5, 10-4 HL) at Wright State (8-19, 3-11 HL)
Date: Friday, Nov. 12, 2010
Time: 7:00 p.m. EDT
Site: McLin Gymnasium (500) - Fairborn, Ohio
Series: WSU leads, 32-24
Last Mtg.: @CSU 3, WSU 0 (10/6/10)
Cleveland State at Butler (17-9, 11-3 HL)
Date: Saturday, Nov. 13, 2010
Time: 4:30 p.m. EDT
Site: Hinkle Fieldhouse (10,000) - Indianapolis, Ind.
Series: BU leads, 22-12
Last Mtg.: @CSU 3, BU 0 (10/5/10)
Complete Release in PDF Format 
QUICK SETS: Cleveland State concludes the 2010 regular season when the Vikings play two road matches this weekend. CSU will open the weekend at Wright State with a 7:00 p.m. contest on Friday (Nov. 12) before the regular season finale on Saturday (Nov. 13) at Butler at 4:30 p.m. The Vikings enter the weekend with an overall record of 20-5 and are in third place in the Horizon League at 10-4 and can finish anywhere between second and fourth in the final league standings. Wright State is 8-19 overall and 3-11 in the league, while Butler is 17-9 overall and one match ahead of the Vikings in second place in the league at 11-3.
REVIEWING LAST WEEK: The Vikings won both of their matches last week. Following are brief recaps of each contest.
Match 24: CSU 3, Loyola 0 (Nov. 5, Cleveland, Ohio)
CSU won its 20th match of the season with a 3-0 sweep of Loyola. Kara Koch had 12 kills, while Jordan Goad dished out 25 assists and Amy Grabiec made 14 digs. CSU held Loyola to a .009 (22-21-108) attack percentage.
Match 25: Valparaiso 3, CSU 0 (Nov. 6, Youngstown, Ohio)
Valparaiso handed CSU its second league loss at home with a 3-0 sweep. Valpo won the first set 32-30 and used that momentum to win the next two sets. Kara Koch had nine kills and nine digs and Jordan Goad had 38 assists.
PREVIEWING THE VIKINGS: Now in his 11th season at the helm of the Cleveland State volleyball program, head coach Chuck Voss has re-tooled the squad and has the Vikings right back in the thick of the Horizon League race. Headlining the list of returnees from last year's regular season champions is junior setter Jordan Goad (10.66 aps, 1.86 dps), who was a first team All-Horizon League and honorable mention All-America pick last year after finishing 36th in the country in assists. Freshman Annie Djukic (4.25 aps) is Goad's backup after redshirting last season and has made five starts this season to spare Goad at times. Senior Amy Benz (.310, 2.53 kps, 1.01 bps) headlines a deep and talented group of middles that also includes junior Megan Barhorst (1.16 kps, 0.95 bps) and sophomore Marie Frease (.280, 1.45 kps). Sophomore Kara Koch (3.92 kps, 2.56 dps) and junior Lindsey Griffith (2.08 kps) are the most experienced outside hitters on the roster, while sophomore Kourtney Volkmer (0.08 kps) and freshman Kerry Winchester (0.62 kps) have also received opportunities. Freshman Jackie Dabbelt (.264, 2.51 kps) has held down the right side. The Vikings are once again be strong in the backrow with junior Amy Grabiec (5.07 dps) continuing CSU's strong tradition of liberos. Senior Meghan Mental (1.64 dps), junior Whitney Dalessandro and sophomores Amanda Medvetz (2.29 dps) and Brittany Holland (2.25) all receive time as defensive specialists in the backrow.
WHERE WE STAND: With two regular season matches left, CSU can finish anywhere between second and fourth in the league. Milwaukee has clinched the regular season title and will host the league championship next weekend. Here are the scenarios for CSU:
If CSU defeats WSU and Butler: The Vikings would clinch the No. 2 seed in the Horizon League Championship.
If CSU defeats WSU and loses to Butler: The Vikings would be the No. 3 seed.
If CSU loses to WSU and defeats Butler: The Vikings would be the No. 2 seed UNLESS Butler also defeats Youngstown State on Friday in which case CSU would be the No. 3 seed. If Butler loses to YSU on Friday, the winner of the CSU/Butler match on Saturday would clinch the No. 2 seed.
If CSU loses to WSU and Butler: The Vikings would be the No. 3 seed UNLESS Valparaiso defeats Loyola on Saturday in which case CSU would be the No. 4 seed.
GOAD & BENZ HONORED: Jordan Goad and Amy Benz were both selected to the CoSIDA Academic All-District teams that were released last week. Goad, who carries a 3.89 GPA as a pre-med major, was a second team selection, while Benz was named to the third team after sporting a 3.63 grade point average as an accounting major.
CSU IN THE NCAA STATS: The Vikings are well represented in the latest NCAA statistics that were released on Monday (Nov. 8) afternoon. As a team, CSU is 42nd in assists (12.86), 45th in kills (13.75) and 63rd in digs (16.34). Individually, Amy Grabiec is 38th in digs (5.07), while Jordan Goad is 51st in assists (10.66) and Kara Koch is 49th in kills (3.92) and 54th in points (4.42).
RPI WATCH: The NCAA released its sixth edition of the volleyball RPI on Monday (Oct. 25) with the Vikings moving up two spots from last week to No. 101. CSU is the second highest rated team in the Horizon League with Milwaukee checking in at No. 60.
VIKINGS GET 20th WIN: Friday's win over Loyola allowed the Vikings to notch their 20th win of the season, the 12th time in school history CSU has won 20 matches. It is the third 20-win season in the last four years for the Vikings, who won at least 20 matches nine times from 1974-88.
... AND 10th IN THE LEAGUE: The win over Loyola was also CSU's 10th in the Horizon League, marking the fourth time in school history the Vikings have accomplished the feat. The record for league wins in a season is 13, set in 2007 and 2009, while the 2005 squad is second with 11 victories.
GOAD TRIPLES UP: Junior Jordan Goad notched the first triple-double of her career in the Oct. 22 win at Green Bay, finishing with 43 assists, 13 digs and 10 kills. Her 10th and final kill gave the Vikings an 11-8 lead in the fifth set, helping CSU eventually win the final set, 15-10.
... AND CONTINUES TO DISH IT OUT: Jordan Goad continues to lead the Horizon League while also ranking 51st in the nation in assists per set (10.66). In addition, she has helped direct the Vikings to the best attack percentage in the league (.224). Goad is fifth on the all-time assist chart at CSU with 3,307 assists, needing 14 more to take over fourth place.
SHE CAN DIG IT: Junior Amy Grabiec is continuing the strong tradition of the libero position at CSU, averaging 5.07 digs per set to rank second in the league and 38th in Division I. Grabiec, who has reached double-digit digs in 33 of the last 34 matches dating to last year, has 461 digs this season, the third highest total in a single season in school history. She needs to make 16 more digs to move into second place.
KOCH DOUBLES UP: Sophomore Kara Koch has notched 10 of the team's 13 double-doubles this season, including in seven of the last 12 matches. Over that span, Koch is averaging 3.83 kills and 3.46 digs per set, tying her career-high with 15 digs in three of the matches. She ranks second in the Horizon League in kills (3.92) and points (4.42).
BENZ ON THE CHARTS: Senior Amy Benz has her name plastered throughout the CSU record book, ranking third in blocks (518), and block assists (451), fourth in attack percentage (.314), seventh in solo blocks (67) and 10th in kills (1,106). She is one of three players in program history to record 1,000 kills and 500 blocks in a career, joining Jamie Bouyer and Danielle Siefker.
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 seven seasons. It began with Jamie Bouyer 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 ranks second in the league this year, hitting at a .310 clip. UIC's Janise Dismuke tops the league at .315.
UP NEXT: CSU will play in the Horizon League Championship in Milwaukee next weekend (Nov. 19-21).
