Nov. 19, 2011
Contact: Renee Adam
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MILWAUKEE, Wis. - Following a five-set victory over Butler Saturday, the Cleveland State volleyball team will be playing in the championship match of the Horizon League tournament for the fifth time under head coach Chuck Voss. The Vikings, who will face host Milwaukee in the championship match Sunday at 2:00 p.m. EST, were led by junior Kara Koch who set a tournament record with 34 kills.
With the five-set victory (25-22, 18-25, 15-25, 25-13, 16-14) CSU improves to 21-7 on the season and 4-4 all-time in semifinal contests. Sunday's match will be the third meeting between the Vikings and Panthers in the championship match over the past eight years.
Along with Koch who tallied 30 kills for the second time this season, the Viking offense was led by Marie Frease who posted 13 kills. Goad tallied 53 assists for CSU, posting at least 50 assists for the fourth time this year. The defense was anchored by the trio of Amy Grabiec, Koch and Goad as Grabiec tallied a match-high 22 digs and Koch and Goad each added 17. Megan Barhorst had a team-high five blocks, including two solo blocks, while Frease, Koch and Goad each added three.
After battling from behind for the first half of the opening frame, CSU was able to gain the lead at the 14-12 mark with back-to-back errors by Butler. The Vikings allowed the Bulldogs to climb their way back into the set and take a three-point lead at 19-16, but with a pair of kills from Koch and Kerry Winchester and two Viking blocks CSU earned a one-point advantage at 20-19. Koch powered home two straight kills to give the Vikings the 23-21 advantage and force a Butler timeout, as the Vikings allowed just one more Bulldog point before ending the set on kills from Koch and Jackie Dabbelt.
After dropping the next two sets the Vikings came out firing in the fourth set and never trailed, coming away with the 25-13 victory. CSU rattled off four consecutive points twice throughout the frame, gaining a 10-3 advantage and a 14-4 advantage off of the rallies. After Butler was able to fend off three set points, CSU was finally able to put the frame away with a Koch kill, her 24th of the match.
During the fifth set CSU jumped out to a 7-3 lead, but Butler was able to tie the frame at 7-7 with four straight points. The two teams traded points for the rest of the frame, as the set was tied five times throughout the final 15 points. After fending off two match points, the Vikings were able to earn the 16-14 victory with four straight kills from Koch.
