CSU, GB, UWM and YSU Pick Up Wins on Saturday

Saturday, October 5 Results
Cleveland State 3, Oakland 2 (25-16, 25-23, 25-27, 21-25, 15-11)
Green Bay 3, UIC 0 (25-18, 25-19, 25-16)
Milwaukee 3, Valparaiso 0 (25-5, 25-22, 25-19)
Youngstown State 3, Wright State 0 (25-12, 25-23, 25-14)

Cleveland State 3, Oakland 2
Behind a balanced offensive attack, the Cleveland State volleyball team picked up its second straight Horizon League victory Saturday, earning a 3-2 win against first-year Horizon League opponent Oakland.

Set scores against the Golden Grizzlies were; 25-16, 25-23, 25-27, 21-25, 15-11.

The Vikings had four players notch double-digit kills to lead the offensive attack against Oakland, led by Grace Kauth who posted 12. Christina Toth tied her career-high with 11 kills, while Maggie Hannon and Kelly Kiger each posted 10 – just the second double-digit kill match of Kiger's career.

Nikki Holmes led the CSU defense with 27 digs, her fifth 20+ dig match of the season, while Logan Holthaus added a career-high 16 and Kauth posted 11 for her fourth double-double of the season. Hannon was one shy of tying her career-high with seven blocks on the day, while Kiger and Katie Nesbitt each added four.

The Vikings were able to cruise to a 25-16 win during the opening set, and then battled for a 25-23 second set victory. During the second frame, the two teams stayed within two points of each other until the 15-12 mark when CSU gained a three-point advantage on a pair of kills from Toth and Kauth. The Vikings were then able to extend their lead to five points (20-15) following a pair of Oakland errors, before the Golden Grizzlies posted an 8-3 run to tie the frame at 23-23. CSU held strong, posting the final two points of the frame on back-to-back kills once again from Toth and Kauth.

Oakland then came out of the break and swept the next two sets, forcing a fifth a deciding frame Saturday afternoon. With much of the momentum now swinging in Oakland's favor, the Vikings came out strong and regained control of the match, capturing a 15-11 victory during the fifth frame to earn the five-set victory.

Cleveland State was able to overcome an early deficit in the final frame, gaining its first lead of the set at the 8-7 mark following an Oakland error. The Vikings then posted three straight points to extend their lead to 11-7 on another OU error and kills from Toth and Kauth. CSU held at least a three-point lead throughout the rest of the frame, closing the set on a Hannon kill and an Oakland error.

Green Bay 3, UIC 0
The Green Bay volleyball team bounced back from Friday’s tough, five-set loss at Valparaiso with a convincing 3-0 (25-18, 25-19, 25-16) sweep of UIC on Saturday afternoon at the Flames Athletic Center. The Phoenix improved to 3-1 in Horizon League play and 8-8 overall with the win, while the Flames dropped to 5-13 and 0-3 in conference action.

Green Bay hit over .400 in sets two and three and finished with an impressive .315 hitting percentage while holding UIC to just .087 for the match. Sophomore Mikaela Gunderson paced the Phoenix with a team-high 10 kills, hitting .444, and also added a match-high seven blocks. Green Bay finished with 10 total team blocks in the three-setter.

Senior Monica Anderson also had 10 kills for Green Bay on Saturday, marking her fifth consecutive match in double-figures. Sophomore Emily Riese had a strong all-around contest, leading all players with 37 assists while also contributing eight digs, four blocks and three service aces.

Green Bay came out strong out of the gate, opening up a 10-5 lead early in set one and pushing it to 22-12 late in the 25-18 win. Freshman Shannon Hurley got the Phoenix off to a good start with seven of her nine kills in the opening set.

The visiting Phoenix started fast again in the second, opening with an 11-4 run and forcing a Flames timeout. UIC got within two late at 20-18, but Green Bay ended on a 5-1 run, highlighted by a trio of Gunderson kills, to close out the 25-19 win.

After a tight start in the third, Green Bay used a 4-0 stretch to open up a 21-14 advantage before eventually pulling away for the 25-16 victory and the 3-0 sweep. Anderson had five kills in the set, including each of the match’s final two points.

Milwaukee 3, Valparaiso 0
Julie Kolinske led the offense with 13 kills while Taylor Golabowski had 24 digs to lead the defense as the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee collected a dominating a 25-5, 25-22, 25-19 win over Valparaiso Saturday afternoon at the Athletics-Recreation Center.

Milwaukee (8-8, 4-0 Horizon) owned the final numbers, tallying 47 kills to just 21 for Valpo. The Panthers also had 69 digs in the three-set win and held Valparaiso (13-4, 2-1) to a .044 hitting clip.

Along with Golabowski's 24 digs, Myanna Ruiz added 14 and Kayla Price 10. Nicole Latzig was part of six of UWM's 7.5 blocks.

Offensively, Ruiz and Latzig added 11 kills apiece.

No player had more than five kills for Valparaiso, which was the preseason favorite in the Horizon League.

The Panthers set the tone with their record-setting 25-5 win in the first set, hitting .577 with 15 kills while holding Valpo to a -.114 hitting clip.
It was all Milwaukee in the first set. The Panthers set the tone quickly by scoring six of the first seven points, with kills from Hannah Blanchard and Ruiz capping the first run. Milwaukee went up 10-3 on a Price tip-kill and 12-4 on a Rachel Neuberger kill before Valpo scored once to make it 12-5. The Crusaders wouldn't score again, though, as Milwaukee tallied the final 13 points of the frame. A solo block from Latzig and a Panther triple block helped start the run, with a block from Latzig and Price making it 20-5. A kill from Kolinske pushed things to set point and a block from Latzig and Kolinske finished things off.

The second set was much tougher for Milwaukee but the Panthers pulled it out with a late surge. UWM had an early 6-3 lead on a Blanchard kill before Valpo rallied to tie the frame at 8. The Panthers then rebuilt a 12-8 lead after an ace from Ruiz but the Crusaders fought back to tie things at 13. Valpo finally took a lead of its own at 19-18 on a kill by Sarah Dooms but Milwaukee scored four in a row for a 22-19 advantage. The teams traded three-point surges after that, with the Panthers' final burst enough for the win. After a UWM error tied the match at 22, Neuberger put Milwaukee ahead for good with a kill. Latzig then won a battle at the net for a 24-22 lead and added a kill to finish off the frame.

Milwaukee then finished things off in the third set. Valpo actually led much of the way in the early going and eventually went up 13-10 behind a five-point run. But the Panthers struck back with five in a row themselves and the Crusaders would never lead again. UWM took the lead for good at 19-18 on a Ruiz kill and went ahead 22-19 on a tip kill from Price following a stellar dig from Golabowski. UWM then forced Valpo errors on each of the next two points to finish off the match and become the only unbeaten remaining in the Horizon League.

Youngstown State 3, Wright State 0
The Youngstown State volleyball team responded from its first loss in weeks on Friday night to sweep Wright State on Saturday afternoon at the McLin Gymnasium.

Behind 12 kills from Shannon Watson and eight from Jenna Cavanaugh, the Penguins defeated the Raiders 25-12, 25-23, 25-14 to improve to 10-8 overall and 2-1 in Horizon League play. Casey D'Ambrose had 32 assists and helped the offense outhit the Raiders .219 to .043.

Heidi Splinter, Wright State's top hitter, was held to just seven kills while registering seven attack errors.

Wright State led 4-3 in the opening set when Youngstown State scored seven of the next eight points to go ahead 10-5. The Raiders got no closer than four the rest of the way, and another 7-1 run allowed the Penguins to separate and lead 19-9. The 25-12 final score was the largest margin of the set.
YSU did not trail in the second set, but Wright State kept the Penguins from going on a big run and kept it close. Back-to-back kills from Nichele Johnson put YSU up 7-2 early, and the Penguins led by at least two until the Raiders went on a 5-1 run to get within one at 22-21. The margin was also just one at 23-22 and 24-23 before Watson's ninth kill of the match gave the Penguins the 25-23 set win.

Youngstown State led from start to finish in the third set and limited the Raiders to seven kills.