HARRISONBURG, Va. – The Cleveland State volleyball team split its final non-league matches of the season Saturday, picking up a 3-1 victory over James Madison and falling in three sets to Wake Forest at the JMU Invitational.
Set scores against Wake Forest were; 23-25, 17-25, 20-25.
Set scores against James Madison were; 25-19, 26-24, 24-26, 25-17.
CSU had two representatives on the JMU Invitational All-Tournament Team – Maggie Hannon and Christina Toth. Hannon posted a team-high 43 kills with a .468 hitting percentage on the weekend along with 10 blocks, while Toth had 28 kills, a .392 hitting percentage and seven blocks.
After dropping their first match of the day against Wake Forest – their second ACC opponent of the season – the Vikings rebounded and picked up a four-set victory over James Madison to finish the weekend with a 2-1 record.
Against James Madison, Cleveland State posted a season-best .342 hitting percentage and tied its season-high with 67 total kills. For just the third time this year, four Vikings notched double-digit kills against JMU, led by Grace Kauth who posted a career-high 17. Also recording double-digit kills were Hannon (16), Winchester (11) and Toth (11) - who also tied her career-high.
Dayna Roberts and Annie Djukic split setting duties against JMU, Djukic notching 29 assists and Roberts tallying 27. Nikki Holmes recorded 24 digs to lead the CSU defense, while Roberts posted 10 digs for her fourth double-double of the season. Kelly Kiger tied her career-high with eight blocks, while Toth added four and Ally Beck added three.
In the first frame, CSU was able to distance itself in the middle of the set with back-to-back kills from Toth and Hannon forcing a JMU timeout at the 15-10 mark. The Vikings held at least a four-point lead for the remainder of the frame, and despite James Madison fighting off two set-points, CSU was able to put the frame away with a JMU error.
The Vikings were once again able to gain a five-point lead at the 15-10 mark during the second set, but JMU battled back to bring the score within two-points at 19-17 and stayed close for the rest of the frame. The two teams traded points over the next few plays, until CSU was finally able to gain a set-point on a Kauth kill and put the frame away on a kill from Hannon and a JMU error.
CSU dropped a hard-fought third set, but responded by claiming a 25-17 victory in the fourth set. The Vikings were again able to distance themselves during the middle of the frame, and cruised for the rest of the set. JMU fought off one set-point, but Cleveland State was finally able to put the match away with a Hannon kill.
The Vikings will now begin Horizon League play next week, traveling to Youngstown State on Friday, Sept. 27. Friday's match is set for a 7:00 p.m. start.
