BALTIMORE, Md. – The Cleveland State volleyball team opened the 2021 campaign Friday, splitting its first two matches at the Baltimore Invitational. The Vikings opened their 50th season of volleyball with a 3-0 victory over Morgan State, before dropping a 3-1 contest against Navy in the Friday evening finale.
In their season opener, the Vikings picked up a 3-0 victory against host Morgan State, improving to 2-0 against the Bears in program history. Both of Cleveland State's victories over Morgan State have come as straight-set sweeps, with the first win coming during the 2010 season.
In Cleveland State's second match of the day the Vikings dropped a hard-fought four-set match against Navy, marking the first loss against Navy in program history (2-1).
London Portis and Peyton Bloomer both finished with a team-high 11 kills, while Madalynn Butler added 10 kills for the Viking offense against Navy. Audrey McConihe posted 13 total digs, while Abby Miller finished with 30 assists on the match.
The trio of Erica Kostelac, Sarah DeGeorge and Halayna Kesling made their CSU debuts against Morgan State, while Emma Walker, Brynna Geibel and Grace Marshall made their collegiate debuts against Navy.
Friday's matches against Morgan State and Navy marked the first non-league matches for the Vikings in over 700 days, as they last faced a non-league opened during the 2019 campaign.
The Vikings will conclude play at the Baltimore Invitational tomorrow (Saturday, August 27), facing Towson at 1:30 p.m. Entering tomorrow's contest, the two teams are tied 4-4 in the all-time series.
