MATCHES #7-8
CHIPPEWA CHALLENGE | MOUNT PLEASANT, MICH.
@ Central Michigan | Friday, September 8 | 7:30 p.m.
Live Stats | Live Video
vs. Indiana State | Saturday, September 9 | 2:30 p.m.
Live Stats | Live Video
CHIPPEWA CHALLENGE MATCH NOTES | CHIPPEWA CHALLENGE TOURNAMENT CENTRAL
QUICK SETS
The Cleveland State volleyball team will participate in its third early season tournament this weekend, traveling north for the Chippewa Challenge. The Vikings will play just two matches during the two-day tournament, taking on the host, Central Michigan at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, September 8 and facing Indiana State at 2:30 p.m. on Saturday, September 9.
CHIPPEWA CHALLENGE FIELD
Central Michigan | The Chippewas enter their home invitational with a 5-1 record, currently on a two-match winstreak. To open the season CMU captured the Army Invitational title, while Central Michigan's only loss on the season came against Penn (3-1) last weekend.
Indiana State | The Sycamores currently stand at 1-6 this season, with their lone win coming as a 3-0 sweep against DePaul in the season opener.
IUPUI | The Jaguars are the fourth team in this weekend's field, but with the addition of IUPUI to the Horizon League for the 2017 season, Cleveland State will not face the Jaguars at the Chippewa Challenge.
VIKINGS TABBED HORIZON LEAGUE PRESEASON FAVORITES
Earlier this season the Vikings were selected to repeat as Horizon League Champions, as they were tabbed the Horizon League Preseason favorite, picking up 81 points and four first place votes in the league's preseason poll. The Vikings are two-time defending Horizon League Champions, and were named the preseason favorite for the second straight season.
POSTSEASON HONOREES RETURN
The 2017 Vikings will be led by seniors Gina Kilner and Alexis Middlebrooks, and sophomore Sara Skeens - a trio that earned postseason honors from the Horizon League last year. Kilner, who was named the Horizon League Setter of the Year, finished the season averaging 10.61 assists per set, and helped the team to a .250 hitting percentage on the year. Middlebrooks, who earned a spot on the All-League First Team for the second straight season, finished the year ranked second on the team averaging 2.75 kills per set on a .321 hitting percentage. Skeens was named the Horizon League Co-Freshman of the Year after finishing her rookie campaign averaging 2.51 kills per set to rank third on the team.
ROAD WARRIORS
During the 2017 season the Vikings will play their entire non-league slate away from home, and will play their first 13 matches - including two league contests - on the road. During this stretch the Vikings will travel to six different states and will cover over 3,400 miles. Over the last three seasons, Cleveland State has had success playing away from the friendly confines of Woodling Gymnasium, owning a 32-12 record in true road and neutral site matches.
MIDDLEBROOKS & KILNER PICK UP ALL-TOURNAMENT HONORS
After guiding the Vikings to a 2-1 record last weekend, seniors Alexis Middlebrooks and Gina Kilner were named to the Rose Hill Classic/Volley In The Valley All-Tournament Team. Middlebrooks, who picked up her second straight all-tournament accolade, averaged 4.25 kills/set on a .441 hitting percentage along with 12 total blocks on the weekend. Kilner earned an all-tournament honor for the first time this season after leading the Viking offense to a .267 hitting percentage on the weekend averaging 11.58 assists per set.
VIKINGS FIRING ON ALL CYLINDERS
After the first two weeks of the 2017 season, Cleveland State leads the Horizon League with a .262 hitting percentage and ranks second averaging 13.80 kills per set. Individually, four Vikings are hitting .300 or better on the young season, including Mariah Carrero-Johnson who has a team-best .431 clip this year (30-8-51). Last time out, Cleveland State tallied a season-best .315 hitting percentage at Marist, while the Vikings have recorded a .250 clip or better on three occassions this season (at Marist, at Fordham, vs. Oral Roberts).
…MIDDLEBROOKS LEADING THE VIKING OFFENSE
A large part of the Viking offense has come from senior middle hitter Alexis Middlebrooks, who leads the team and ranks fifth in the Horizon League averaging 3.64 kills per set. So far this season, Middlebrooks has tallied double-digit kills in all but one match, including a career-high tying 20-kill performance against Alabama in the season opener. Last time out, Middlebrooks eclipsed 850 kills for her career, while she also moved into fourth place in the CSU Career Record Book with a .321 career hitting percentage (863-261-1870).
GREGA NOTCHES 1,000TH CAREER DIG
With a 16-dig performance against Fordham in the first match of the weekend, senior libero Shannon Grega became the 18th Viking all-time to eclipse the 1,000-dig mark for her career. Grega, who averaged 4.58 digs per set on the weekend, enters the Chippewa Challenge with 1,052 career digs. During the first two weeks of the season, Grega has notched three 20-dig matches, and is now just 50 digs shy of earning a spot on the top-10 list in the CSU Career Record Book.
DeGEORGE CONTINUES STRONG COLLEGIATE DEBUT
Freshman Emily DeGeorge continues to make an impact for the Vikings throughout the first part of her rookie campaign, appearing in all 25 sets and picking up starts in five of the first six matches. DeGeorge, who ranks second on the team averaging 2.48 digs per set, has recorded double-digit dig performances three times, including a season-high 18-dig match against Alabama in the season opener. DeGeorge has also spent time in the front row for the Vikings, averaging 1.48 kills per set after the first two weeks.
KILNER IN THE RECORD BOOK
Entering the Chippewa Challenge senior Gina Kilner is closing in on 3,500 career assists, and would become just the fifth Viking all-time to achieve the feat. Kilner, who ranks third in the Horizon League averaging 10.88 assists per set this season, has tallied 50+ helpers on three occasions, and currently ranks fifth in the CSU Career Record Book with 3,471 assists.
GREENE TALLIES DOUBLE-DIGIT BLOCK MATCH
In just her second collegiate match, freshman Hannah Greene tallied the team's first double-digit block match of the season, as she recorded 10 total blocks against Binghamton last weekend. Greene, who posted two solo blocks and eight block assists, is just the fifth Viking over the last 10 seasons to record a double-digit block match and the first do so as a freshman. This season, Greene is one of three Horizon League players to notch at least 10 blocks in a match, and the only rookie to achieve the feat.
HEAD COACH CHUCK VOSS
Chuck Voss is in his 18th season at the helm of the Vikings, and owns a 318-198 (.616) overall record at CSU. Under Voss the Vikings have recorded 14 winning seasons, including eight straight entering the 2017 season. Cleveland State has eclipsed the 20-win mark seven times since Voss took over the program, and has captured Horizon League Tournament titles four times (2007, 2012, 2015 & 2016) under his guidance. Last season Voss became the all-time winningest coach in program history while also eclipsing the 300-win mark for his Cleveland State career - becoming the only active Horizon League coach to achieve the feat at their current school.
A LOOK BACK AT 2016
Last season Cleveland State captured its fourth Horizon League Regular Season and Tournament title, finishing the year with a 25-6 overall record. Cleveland State's 25 wins marked the program's 16th 20-win season, while it also marked the third time under Voss that the Vikings have reached the 25-win plateau. After claiming the Horizon League Tournament title, the Vikings earned a trip to the NCAA Tournament for the fourth time over the last nine seasons, earning a neutral site match against Arizona in the opening round.
UP NEXT
The Vikings will close out their early season tournament slate with the Panther Challenge next weekend, taking on Eastern Kentucky (Friday, September 15), UC Santa Barbara (Saturday, September 16), and the host, Pittsburgh (Saturday, September 16).
