HARRISONBURG, Va. – The Cleveland State volleyball team continued its winning ways Friday evening, opening play at the JMU Invitational with a 3-1 victory over Campbell. The Vikings now stand at 9-2 on the season, and have won five straight.
Set scores against Campbell were; 23-25, 25-17, 25-23, 25-17.
Grace Kauth and Dayna Roberts each recorded double-doubles on the match, Kauth with 13 kills and a career-high 16 digs, and Roberts with a season-high 44 assists and 12 digs. Maggie Hannon and Kerry Winchester joined Kauth to lead the Viking offense against Campbell, Hannon with 13 kills on a .542 hitting percentage and Winchester with 12 kills.
Nikki Holmes had a team-high 18 digs, while Ally Beck added 11 and Dawn Lingenfelter posted a career-high 10 digs to lead Cleveland State's defensive efforts. Hannon also added seven blocks on the night, while Aaliyah Slappy and Roberts each tallied four.
After dropping the first set, the Vikings rebounded and posted victories in the next three frames. In set two CSU was able to jump out to a seven-point lead at the 10-3 mark, and held the advantage for the remainder of the frame. After Campbell pulled within three points (13-10), the Vikings were able to tally five of the next six points to extend their lead once again at 18-11. During this stretch, CSU got points from Beck, Lingenfelter, Hannon and a pair of Campbell errors. The Vikings held Campbell to only five points throughout the end of the frame, earning the 25-17 victory on a Kauth kill.
The third set was much closer, as both teams traded points throughout the beginning of the frame until Campbell was able to gain a three-point lead at the 12-9 mark. The Vikings then answered by posting five of the next six points to regain the lead at 14-13 on a Kauth kill. The teams once again traded points throughout the rest of the frame, until CSU was finally able to put the set away with a Hannon kill – her team-high fourth of the set.
The final frame was much like the third, as both teams traded points throughout the start of the set until the Vikings were finally able to distance themselves following a Kelly Kiger kill and a pair of Beck service aces (19-14). CSU was then able to cruise to a 25-17 set victory, closing the frame with back-to-back kills from Roberts and Hannon.
The Vikings will continue play at the JMU Invitational tomorrow (Saturday, Sept. 21), facing Wake Forest at 10:00 a.m. and James Madison at 7:30 p.m. in the tournament finale. Links for live stats are available for both matches on the volleyball schedule page on CSUVikings.com.
