MATCHES #26 - 27
Wright State
Friday, November 6 | 7:00 p.m. | Woodling Gymnasium
Live Stats | Live Video
Oakland
Saturday, November 7 | 4:00 p.m. | Woodling Gymnasium
Live Stats | Live Video
PDF MATCH NOTES
Cleveland State vs. Wright State & Oakland
QUICK SETS
The Cleveland State volleyball team will return home for the final time during the 2015 regular season this weekend, beginning a three-match homestand against Wright State and Oakland. The Vikings will begin the crucial stretch of Horizon League matches against Wright State on Friday, November 6 (7:00 p.m.) and will then host Oakland on Saturday, November 7 (4:00 p.m.) - with Saturday's contest serving as Senior Day.
THE MATCH-UP | WRIGHT STATE
Wright State enters Friday's contest with a 13-15 overall record and a 2-11 mark against league opponents. The Raiders snapped a seven-match losing skid last time out, picking up a 3-0 victory against Milwaukee. Earlier this season Cleveland State earned a 3-1 victory at Wright State, notching its 14th straight win against the Raiders.
THE MATCH-UP | OAKLAND
Oakland enters the weekend with a 15-11 overall record and a 9-3 mark in Horizon League play - ranking second in the current league standings. Oakland has won nine of its last 11 contests and will face Youngstown State prior to Saturday's matchup against CSU. Earlier this season the Vikings pulled out a five-set victory over the Golden Grizzlies.
ENTERING THE WEEKEND…
The Vikings own a 21-4 overall record, including a 10-1 mark in Horizon League contests. Cleveland State has won five straight matches and 13 of its last 14. The Vikings currently sit atop the Horizon League standings, with Oakland close behind in second place, setting up a battle of the top-two teams for Saturday.
SENIOR DAY SATURDAY
Saturday's contest against Oakland will serve as Senior Day for Cleveland State, as the Vikings will honor the quartet of Dayna Roberts, Nikki Holmes, Christina Toth, and Molly King prior to the match. Make sure to get to Woodling Gymnasium early to catch all of the pre-match ceremonies.
FINAL REGULAR SEASON HOMESTAND
Friday's contest against Wright State will kickoff Cleveland State's final homestand of the regular season, with the Vikings hosting Oakland, Northern Kentucky, and the Raiders during this stretch. So far this season Cleveland State stands at 7-1 at home, including a perfect 5-0 mark during Horizon League contests. The Vikings are the only league team to be undefeated at home during league play this year.
20 WINS AND COUNTING
Earlier this season the Vikings notched their sixth 20-win season under head coach Chuck Voss and their 15th 20-win season in program history. Entering Friday's contest against Wright State CSU stands at 21-4 this season, and is one of two league teams to break the 20-win plateau this year. With at least six matches left during the 2015 season, the Vikings have a chance to record the most wins in a single season under Voss (current record is 26 wins during the 2009 season).
BLOCK PARTY
For the 11th time this season the Vikings recorded double-digit team blocks last time out, recording 12.0 total blocks at Youngstown State. Cleveland State continues to lead the Horizon League averaging 2.33 blocks per set, while two Vikings also rank in the top-10 individually - Alexis Middlebrooks (2nd - 1.10) and Aaliyah Slappy (8th - 0.88).
…CSU SINGLE-SEASON TOP-10
So far this season Cleveland State has recorded 230.5 total team blocks, a mark that is just seven blocks shy of cracking the CSU single-season top-10 record list. The Vikings have posted 43 solo blocks and 375 block assists, with their 375 block assists ranking ninth on the CSU single-season record list. If the Vikings are able to record 25 more block assists this season they would become just the eighth CSU team to record 400 block assists in a single season.
MIDDLEBROOKS ON THE BLOCK
Sophomore Alexis Middlebrooks continued her excellent blocking efforts at Youngstown State last time out, posting seven total blocks against the Penguins. Middlebrooks, who ranks second in the league averaging 1.10 blocks per set, has posted five or more total blocks during 12 matches this season. Entering Friday's contest she has a league-best 109 total blocks and is just 14 blocks shy of cracking the CSU single-season top-10 list.
HIGH OCTANE OFFENSE
Throughout the first 10 weeks of the 2015 season, the Vikings have notched a league-best .263 hitting percentage, while ranking second averaging 13.79 kills per set. CSU has tallied a .300 clip or better during nine matches, including a season-high mark of .350 at Toledo (49-13-103). If the season were to end today, the .263 hitting percentage would be a single-season record for Cleveland State.
…SEEING 20/20
For the first time since the 2009 season the Vikings had two players notch 20-kill performances in the same match, as Grace Kauth tallied 21 kills and Alexis Middlebrooks recorded a career-high 20 kills at Milwaukee earlier this season. This marked the fourth 20-kill match of the season for Kauth and the first for Middlebrooks. So far this season, Kauth and Middlebrooks have accounted for 637 kills, almost 50-percent of Cleveland State's offense.
IN THE CSU RECORD BOOK
DIGS | Seniors Dayna Roberts and Nikki Holmes both rank in the top-10 in digs after being a crucial part of the Cleveland State defense throughout their careers. Entering Friday's contest Roberts is tied for sixth with 1,107 career digs, while Holmes ranks 10th with 1,090. With at least six matches left to play this season, both have the opportunity to move up to fourth place on the career record list.
ASSISTS | There are also two current Vikings on the career assists list, with Dayna Roberts ranking seventh with 1,920 total assists and Gina Kilner sitting eighth with 1,612 career helpers. Roberts is the first Viking all-time to record 1,900 assists and 1,000 digs on their career, while Kilner recently became the eighth Viking all-time with 1,600 career helpers. For the season, Kilner has recorded 1,078 total assists, a mark that ranks 12th among NCAA Division I players.
KILLS PER SET | Throughout the season Grace Kauth has consistently moved up the kills per set record list, and currently ranks seventh averaging 3.03 kills per set on her career. Kauth, who ranks fifth among league players this season averaging 3.65 kills per set, is closing in on 1,000 career kills, entering the weekend with 943.
POINTS PER SET | Grace Kauth also recently earned a spot on the top-10 list in points per set, entering the weekend ranked 10th with 3.46 points per set. For the season, she is averaging 4.11 points per set, one of just five league players to average at least 4.00 points per set. Kauth recently surpassed 1,000 career points, entering the final stretch of the regular season with 1,077.5 total points.
