CLEVELAND, Ohio – The Cleveland State volleyball team will return to Woodling Gymnasium to close out the regular season on Friday, November 11, hosting Wright State in a 7:00 p.m. contest. Friday's match will serve as Senior Night, as the Vikings will honor the senior trio of Sydney Mast, Aaliyah Slappy, and Grace Kauth before the contest.
Entering the final match of the regular season, the Vikings stand at 22-5 overall and 13-2 in Horizon League play, while the Raiders are 9-18 overall this season and 4-10 against league opponents. Cleveland State secured the No. 1 seed for the upcoming Horizon League Tournament last weekend, while Wright State is currently tied for eighth in the league standings with two matches left to play this season.
COMPLETE HORIZON LEAGUE STANDINGS
Last time out, the Vikings snapped their 13-match winstreak, as they dropped a hard-fought five-set match at Green Bay in a midweek contest. The Viking offense was led by the trio of Kauth (17 kills), Sara Skeens (13), and Alexis Middlebrooks (10), while Shannon Grega led the Viking defense with 20 digs – her fourth 20-dig match of the season.
Junior Gina Kilner reached a career milestone against the Phoenix last time out, as she eclipsed the 3,000-assist mark after posting 48 helpers at Green Bay. Entering Friday's contest, Kilner ranks sixth in the CSU Career Record book with 3,041 assists, and is one of just six Vikings all-time to reach the 3,000-assist milestone.
Kauth also inched closer to moving up the career kills list on Wednesday, as she finished the match with 1,411 career kills – just five kills shy of moving into third place in the CSU Career Record book. After the five-set match against the Phoenix, Kauth cracked the top-10 list in sets played (442), and now ranks in the top-10 in seven career categories.
Prior to the start of Friday's match, the Vikings will honor the senior class of Kauth, Aaliyah Slappy, and Sydney Mast – a trio that has led the Vikings to two straight Horizon League Regular Season Championships. This senior class has also led the Vikings to more than 75 wins throughout their careers, including back-to-back 20-win campaigns as juniors and seniors.
