Volleyball Scoreboard (Nov. 14)
Cleveland State 3, Youngstown State 1
Oakland 3, Milwaukee 2
UIC 3, Loyola 1
Wright State 3, Green Bay 0
Oakland captured its first Horizon League volleyball regular season title Friday night with a 3-2 win over Milwaukee. The regular season title clinches the No. 1 seed for the Golden Grizzlies in next week's Horizon League tournament and means Oakland will host the championship.
Oakland 3, Milwaukee 2
Melissa Deatsch posted a double-double with a match-best 19 kills with 10 digs as the Oakland volleyball team (19-9, 11-2 HL) defeated Milwaukee in five sets Friday night to capture the program's first-ever Horizon League regular season title.
Oakland posted a 19-25, 25-22, 25-21, 23-25, 15-10 victory over the Panthers; with the win, Oakland will be the No. 1 seed and will host the 2014 Horizon League Volleyball Championship Nov. 21-23 at the Athletics Center O'rena.
"This was an exciting match and we showed an incredible amount of passion and energy," said Oakland head coach Rob Beam. "Winning the regular season title is not only a great accomplishment for this team, but for all of the teams that have helped get our program to this point."
Deatsch led four players in double figures in kills, as Jessica Dood and Cassie Pelloni added 13 kills apiece. Sammy Condon tallied 11 kills as the Golden Grizzlies hit .229 for the match. Guiding the attack was Ciara Schultz with 50 assists.
As strong as Oakland's attack was, the Golden Grizzlies were just as solid on defense. Taylor Humm tallied a match-high 28 digs, while Schultz added 12 digs. Oakland out-blocked Milwaukee 13-5, with Amanda Baker posting three block solos and four assists.
Milwaukee (15-13, 9-4 HL) got 15 kills from Julie Kolinske.
Cleveland State 3, Youngstown State 1
The Cleveland State volleyball team wrapped up the regular season with a victory Friday evening, posting a 3-1 win at Youngstown State. With the win, the Vikings end the regular season with a 14-13 overall record and a 7-7 mark in Horizon League action – and on a three-match win streak heading into the Horizon League Tournament.
Set scores against Youngstown State were 21-25, 25-11, 26-24, 25-17.
Grace Kauth led the Vikings with her ninth double-double of the season – 26 kills and 11 digs – while Christina Toth also tallied double-digit kills with 11. Gina Kilner posted 43 assists, along with five kills, seven digs, and two service aces. Shannon Grega and Dayna Roberts both tallied 13 digs for the Vikings, while Ally Beck added 11. Alexis Middlebrooks was just shy of her career-high, posting a team-best seven blocks.
After dropping the first set, Cleveland State stormed back to pick up a 25-11 victory during the second frame. With a 6-0 run during the middle of the frame, the Vikings were able to gain a 12-5 advantage, and held at least a four-point lead for the remainder of the set. At the end of the frame, CSU was able to notch 10 straight points, with four of those points coming from Maggie Hannon service aces – a career-high for the senior.
The third set was an even matchup throughout the entire frame, with both teams staying within two points of each other throughout the set. After holding off a YSU set-point with a block from Toth and Middlebrooks, the Vikings were able to put the set away with a YSU error and a Toth kill, picking up the 26-24 set victory.
The fourth and final set was much easier for the Vikings, as they were able to get out to an early 9-4 lead, and hold the advantage for the remainder of the set. Midway through, CSU extended its lead to 18-10 following a Toth kill, and then went on to close the frame with three-straight points – including another Toth kill and a block from Middlebrooks and Katie Mihalik.
The Vikings held YSU to a .076 hitting percentage on the match, while CSU notched 55 kills on a .219 clip. For the 10th time this season CSU was able to post double-digit team blocks, recorded 11 on the match – with five players notching multiple blocks.
UIC 3, Loyola 1
The UIC volleyball team used 10 blocks and five service aces to defeat Loyola Chicago (7-18) 3-1 (25-23, 18-25, 25-23, 25-18) Friday night. The Flames had three players with double-digit kills and hit .216 as a squad.
UIC (14-15, 7-6 HL) concludes the regular season Saturday (Nov. 15) by playing host to third-place Valparaiso (23-7, 8-5 HL). First serve is set for 5 p.m. inside the Flames Athletic Center. Seniors Sara Jo Sternard, Maggie Strus and Molly McCoy will be honored prior to the match.
With a victory over Valparaiso on Saturday, UIC will capture the No. 3 seed for the Horizon League Postseason Tournament. The Flames moved into fourth place Friday night when Cleveland State (14-13, 7-7 HL) defeated Youngstown State (16-13, 7-7 HL) in four sets.
UIC collected double-digit blocks for the second consecutive match and the third time in four contests. The Flames had two double-figure block performances over the first 25 matches of the season.
Sophomore Kara Johnson extended her double-digit kill streak to five matches with a team-high 14 kills on 34 attempts. She had six kills on 13 attempts in the third set victory. Johnson owns 23 double-figure performances this season.
Junior Stephenee Yancy, who ranks eighth in the nation with 487 kills, extended her double-digit streak to 29 matches with 13 kills on 36 swings. She put down four kills on eight attempts in the second set. Yancy also collected three total blocks.
McCoy collected her second double-double of the season with 11 kills and a team-high 10 digs. She had four kills on seven swings in the fourth set win. McCoy also set a career high with two service aces. She has six service aces this season after one over her first three years at UIC.
Redshirt freshman Nicole Johnson, who ranks third in the nation with 1,287 assists, dished out 43 assists to go along with two blocks and an ace. She leads the squad with 25 service aces.
Sophomore Casey Harris set a season high with six blocks, including three solos. She had three blocks in the first set win and two in the third set victory. Harris also put down three kills on eight attempts.
Strus compiled nine digs to increase her program-record total to 1,656. She passed the 400-dig mark (406) for the second time in her UIC career.
Sternard put down eight kills on 13 attempts for a strong .538 attack percentage. Sternard, who increased her career kill total to 1,010, had three kills on three attempts in the first set win. Sternard’s .538 attack percentage is her third highest this season. She also collected three blocks and increased her career block total to 325, which ranks ninth in program history.
The first set featured 15 ties and four lead changes. The Ramblers tied the score at 21-21 before a McCoy kill and ace from Allie O’Reilly gave the Flames a lead they would not relinquish. UIC had six blocks and four aces in the 25-23 win.
Loyola hit at a .360 clip while forcing UIC into nine attack errors in the Ramblers’ 25-18 second set win. Loyola had three blocks and two aces in the victory.
The third set was tied 23-23following an attack error on Yancy. However, Loyola hit into a service error and the Flames forced Morgan Reardon into an attack error to end the set. UIC had 15 kills and two blocks in the 25-23 win.
Wright State 3, Green Bay 0
Behind a .285 hitting effort, the Wright State volleyball team swept Green Bay Friday afternoon at the C.J. McLin Gymnasium, winning 25-19, 25-20, 28-26.
