MOON TOWNSHIP, Pa. – The Cleveland State volleyball team opened up Horizon League play Friday evening, picking up a 3-0 sweep at Robert Morris.
With the win, the Vikings are now 13-8 in Horizon League openers under head coach Chuck Voss, and have won their opening #HLVB match four out of the last five seasons.
The duo of Peyton Bloomer and Chelsea Penfield led the Viking offense against RMU, Bloomer finishing with 14 kills and Penfield notching 12. This marked the fifth double-digit kill match of the season for Bloomer.
Abby Miller returned to the lineup Friday evening, finishing with 31 assists along with three kills, four digs and two service aces.
Defensively, Sarah DeGeorge tallied a team-high 10 digs, while Audrey McConihe and Emma Walker both finished with five.
Penfield posted a team-high six total blocks against the Colonials, with Madalynn Butler adding five blocks and Bloomer and Ainslie McLaughlin both posting three.
As a team, the Vikings hit .284 and recorded 11.0 total blocks on the match.
During the opening set both teams traded points until midway through the frame when the Vikings posted back-to-back points on a pair of kills from Erica Kostelac and Abby Miller to gain a 13-9 advantage. The Vikings were then able to extend their lead to 17-12 following a 4-0 run that was capped off by a Peyton Bloomer kill, before gaining a 19-13 edge three points later.
Although the Vikings held a six-point lead late in the frame, Robert Morris was able to work its way back into the set, gaining set point at 24-23. Cleveland State was able to fend off the RMU set point with a Chelsea Penfield kill, and then responded with two straight points on a Penfield block and Bloomer kill to earn the 26-24 first set victory.
Once again the two teams traded points over the first part of the second set then, until a five-point run from the Vikings gave CSU an 18-13 lead following a pair of Abby Miller service aces. The Vikings were then able to hold their advantage throughout the remainder of the frame, earning the 25-19 second set victory on a Colonial error.
During the third and final set the Vikings were able to get out to a quick 4-0 lead, and extended their advantage to 7-3 following another Bloomer kill. Cleveland State was then able to slowly grow its advantage, gaining a 17-11 edge following a Penfield kill and RMU error. The Vikings were then able to control play throughout the remainder of the frame, posting the final three points of the set to capture the 25-16 set victory on a Miller kill.
Cleveland State will continue its opening weekend of Horizon League play at Youngstown State tomorrow (Saturday, September 25), facing the Penguins at 2:00 p.m.
