YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – The Cleveland State volleyball team opened its Horizon League slate Tuesday evening, picking up a five-set victory over Youngstown State.
Laken Voss led the offense on the night, posting 13 kills, while Lydia Latimer added 11 and Liberty Torres added 10.
Karly Klaer finished with 41 assists on the match along with 13 digs, notching another double-double on the season.
Defensively, Audrey McConihe tallied a team-best 26 digs, while Emma Walker added 22 and Sarah DeGeorge tallied 17. In addition, Voss tallied 12 digs giving the Vikings five players with double-digit digs.
As a team, the Vikings combined for 11.0 blocks on the match, including six from Latimer and Madison Olinger.
After dropping the first set, the Vikings earned a convincing 25-15 victory during the second set to even the match at 1-1. Cleveland State was able to use a 5-0 run to gain an early 8-6 lead on a Lydia Latimer kill, before another stretch of four straight points – including a pair of Karly Klaer service aces – extended the Viking lead to 13-8 forcing a YSU timeout.
The Vikings were then able to pick up the first point out of the timeout with a Madalynn Butler and Madison Olinger block to put the score at 14-8, before extending their advantage to 20-13 a few plays later following back-to-back kills from Latimer and a Klaer and Latimer block.
Cleveland State then claimed five of the final seven points of the set, closing out the second frame with an Olinger kill.
The two teams then played an even start to the third frame, until three straight points from the Vikings put Cleveland State up 8-5 on a trio of kills from Laken Voss, Liberty Torres and Latimer. Although the Vikings were able to hold the advantage over the next few plays, YSU worked its way back into the frame, tying the set at 13-13 midway through the frame to force a CSU timeout.
After the two teams traded points – and leads – over the next few plays, Cleveland State was finally able to gain a three-point advantage at 20-17 following an Olinger block and a Klaer kill. The Vikings were then able to control play throughout the remainder of the frame, as a pair of Voss kills and another Latimer kill closed out the 25-20 third set victory for Cleveland State.
Akron was then able to pick up the win in the fourth set, forcing a fifth and deciding frame.
Despite trailing early on in the fifth set, the Vikings were able to work their way back into the frame with a 3-0 run, gaining a slight 6-5 advantage on a Latimer kill. After trading points over the next few plays, the Vikings rattled off a 3-0 run, including a pair of kills from Latimer and Torres, to put the score at 10-8 CSU.
The Vikings were able to add on a Voss service ace and a block from Latimer and Torres, extending their lead to 12-8 before YSU responded with a 4-0 run of its own to tie the score at 12-12.
The two teams would go on to trade points throughout the rest of the frame, as Cleveland State would need four set points before finally notching back-to-back kills from Voss and Klaer to earn the 18-16 fifth set victory and capture the #HLVB opening win over the Penguins.
UP NEXT
The Vikings will continue #HLVB play at home this weekend, hosting Wright State on Friday, September 23 and Northern Kentucky on Saturday, September 24.
