Cleveland State and UIC to Meet in Volleyball Championship

Horizon League Volleyball Scoreboard - Semifinals (Nov. 17)
(1) Cleveland State def. (4) Loyola, 3-0 (25-14, 25-9, 25-17)
(2) UIC def. (3) Valparaiso, 3-2 (24-26, 20-25, 25-16, 25-14, 15-13)

Horizon League Volleyball Schedule - Championship Match (Nov. 18)
2:00 p.m. ET - (2) UIC vs. (1) Cleveland State

Cleveland State and UIC both won on Saturday afternoon at Woodling Gymnasium on Cleveland State's campus to advance to the championship match of the 2012 Horizon League Volleyball Tournament.

The Vikings were brutally efficient in their 3-0 sweep of Loyola in the first semifinal on Saturday. CSU committed only six hitting errors in the match in 93 attempts as they hit .419 as a team. Cleveland State spread the offensive attack around as six different players had at least five kills in the match. Conference Player of the Year Kara Koch led the Vikings with 10 kills and also had a team-high 12 digs as she recorded her 16th double-double of the season. Dayna Roberts had five on eight attempts (.625 hitting percentage) and also recorded a match-high 35 assists.

This marks the fifth time in the last six seasons that Cleveland State has appeared in the League's championship match.

In the second semifinal, UIC dropped the first two sets of the match to Valparaiso, but battled back to win the final three sets and defeat the Crusaders and advance to their first championship match since 2006.The Flames were led by junior MaryKate Imrie who had a match-high 63 assists - the most by a Horizon League player this season - and 17 digs. Aubrey Sniegowski had match-high 20 kills for UIC, while Nicole Allgood contributed 18 and Kelsey Safranek finished with 17 kills. Maggie Strus (23 digs) and Sara Sternard (eight blocks, four solo) headlined the Flames defensive effort.

Cleveland State won both matches between the two programs this season. The Vikings won 3-0 on Sept. 29 in Cleveland and 3-1 on Oct. 26 in Chicago.

(1) Cleveland State 3, (4) Loyola 0
With a 3-0 sweep over No. 4 Loyola, the Cleveland State volleyball team has advanced to the championship match of the Horizon League Tournament for the second straight season. The top-seeded Vikings have reached the championship match five times under head coach Chuck Voss and now hold an all-time record of 12-11 in the league tournament.

Set scores against the Ramblers were 25-14, 25-9, 25-17.

Kara Koch led the Vikings with her fifth straight double-double, posting 10 kills and 12 digs. Marie Frease and Maggie Hannon each added nine kills for the Vikings, while Kerry Winchester and Jackie Dabbelt posted six and Dayna Roberts notched five. Along with Koch, Amanda Medvetz (9 digs) and Roberts (8) led the Viking defense, while Roberts also tallied 35 assists.

The Vikings, who held the lead during the entire match, controlled play from the opening set when they cruised to a 25-14 victory. CSU got out to a five-point lead at the 12-7 mark and held at least a three-point advantage for the rest of the frame. During the middle of the set the Vikings posted six-straight points to gain a 22-11 lead, and closed the frame with points off of kills from Dabbelt and Frease and a Loyola error.

The second set was much of the same, as the Vikings jumped out to a 10-5 lead and then posted six-straight points to gain a 10-point advantage at the 16-6 mark. CSU allowed just three more Rambler points to close the frame, and collected kills from five Vikings in the final nine points, including three from Hannon.

Loyola came out strong during the third and final set, keeping the frame close until the 14-10 mark when CSU was able to post three-straight points on a Frease kill, Winchester service ace and Loyola error. The Vikings controlled the match from this point on, closing the set with five-straight points. During the final run, CSU got points from three Winchester kills, an Annie Djukic service ace and another Rambler error.

(2) UIC 3, (3) Valparaiso 2
In true comeback fashion, the second-seeded UIC volleyball team rallied back from a 2-0 deficit to win three-straight sets and defeat No. 3 Valparaiso, 3-2 (24-26, 20-25, 25-16, 25-14, 15-13) in the semifinal round of the Horizon League Championship. The Flames will make their second championship appearance since joining the Horizon League in 2001.

Senior Aubrey Sniegowski piloted the Flames in kills with 20 to lead all players and record a career-high. The outside hitter bested her previous high of 19 kills, which was set Oct. 6, 2012 versus Milwaukee.

Seniors Kelsey Safranek and Nicole Allgood and junior MaryKate Imrie collected double-double figures in the victory. Safranek posted her 11th double-double, while Allgood collected her fifth an+d Imrie her 18th. Safranek had 17 kills and 13 digs, while Allgood had 18 kills and 17 digs and Imrie handed out 63 helpers and earned 17 digs.

Imrie is now in a first-place tie for most double-doubles in the Horizon League with 18. The junior setter is also now 10th in single-season assists with 1,326 in UIC’s all-time record book.

Defensively, Maggie Strus had 23 digs, while Justine Garcia earned 13. Sara Sternard collected eight total blocks (four solo and four block assists) and also hammered down eight kills.

The Crusaders captured the opening two sets in 26-24 and 25-20 outcomes, but following the break, UIC returned to the court with an early 4-point run, forcing Valparaiso to use a timeout. With the score at 4-1, UIC went on to outscore Valparaiso, 7-5 and then post a five-point run to jump out to a seven-point advantage. From there, the Flames posted five 11-point leads and eventually captured a 25-16 victory.

The Flames continued moved in to the fourth set by outscoring the Crusaders 14-5. UIC didn’t show signs of slowing down as the team secured a convincing 25-14 win.

With the match tied at 2-2, UIC and Valparaiso battled back and forth through the deciding set. The score was tied at 13 all, before Allgood and Janise Dismuke hammered down back-to-back kills to capture the match 3-2 and advance to the championship match of the Horizon League Tournament.