Cleveland State Falls to Kansas in First Round of NCAA Volleyball Tournament

The Cleveland State volleyball team's season came to an end Friday evening, falling to No. 20 Kansas, 3-1 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. CSU's 25-17 win during the opening set marked the first set win in NCAA Tournament play for the Vikings. Friday's loss to the Jayhawks snapped CSU's 13-match win streak, as the Vikings end the season with a record of 23-7 - the fourth straight year that the Vikings have posted at least 20 wins. The Jayhawks improved to 26-6 on the year and will now play Wichita State in a second round contest Saturday evening.

Set scores against the Jayhawks were 17-25, 25-10, 25-16, 25-18.

Offensively the Vikings were led by the trio of Marie Frease, Kerry Winchester and Kara Koch, Frease with 13 kills, Winchester with 11 and Koch with 10. Koch also notched a match-high 19 digs, marking her 18th double-double of the season, while Amanda Medvetz chipped in 11 digs. Dayna Roberts captained the offense with 38 assists, while Jackie Dabbelt had a team-high four blocks and Frease added three.

Playing in front of a crowd of 3,551, Cleveland State came out strong during the opening set, controlling the frame from the start. The Vikings jumped out to a 4-0 lead with kills from Koch and Frease and a pair of Kansas errors, and held at least a two-point advantage for the rest of the frame. After the Jayhawks brought the score within two (12-10), CSU rattled off four straight points to extend its lead to 16-10 on kills from Koch and Frease and a pair of Kansas errors. The Vikings were able to post multi-point runs twice more throughout the frame, and ended the set with a Kansas error, their 13th of the set.

After dropping the second set, Cleveland State held strong during the first half of the third frame, staying within three points until the 12-11 mark, when Kansas went on a four-point run to take over the frame. With three straight kills from Winchester, the Vikings fought their way back within two points at the 16-14 mark, but that would be as close as they would get, with the Jayhawks closing the frame on a six-point run.

The fourth set was much of the same, as the Vikings stayed within striking distance until the middle part of the frame when Kansas went on a 5-1 run to gain a 15-10 advantage. The Jayhawks held at least a four-point lead for the remainder of the frame and allowed CSU to post back-to-back points just twice more throughout the end of the frame, as Kansas earned the 25-18 fourth set victory.

(Release courtesy of Renee Adam, CSU athletics)