UIC, UWM, Valpo and YSU Win on Friday Night

Friday, October 18 Results:
Milwaukee 3, Cleveland State 0 (25-20, 25-22, 25-20)
UIC 3, Wright State 0 (25-21, 25-21, 25-23)
Valparaiso 3, Oakland 1 (25-18, 23-25, 25-20, 25-13)
Youngstown State 3, Green Bay 1 (17-25, 25-15, 25-22, 25-19)

Milwaukee 3, Cleveland State 0
Rachel Neuberger had 20 kills and the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee hit .339 as a team in collecting a 25-20, 25-22, 25-22 win over defending Horizon League champion Cleveland State Friday night at the Klotsche Center.

Neuberger had just one error and hit .594 in the match in helping Milwaukee (10-8. 6-0 Horizon) remain unbeaten in league play.

Myanna Ruiz and Julie Kolinske added 13 kills apiece for the Panthers, who never trailed in the first or third sets and fought back from an early deficit in the second frame.

Kayla Price directed the stellar Panther offense with 41 assists as Milwaukee hit better than .300 for the third time in six league matches.

Taylor Golabowski (14) and Maisey Mulvey (10) each reached double figures in digs for Milwaukee. UWM did keep Cleveland State from having a player reach double figures in kills.

But the story of the night was Neuberger. She surpassed 20 kills for the third time in her career and dominated the match offensively.

The Panthers controlled the first set. Milwaukee broke a 5-all tie by scoring eight-straight points, with the run highlighted by four kills from Neuberger. CSU did pull to within 15-11 but Milwaukee pushed the lead back out to 20-12 on a Ruiz kill and was still up 24-18 after a kill by Kolinske. Another Kolinske kill then wrapped things up.

Milwaukee then fought from behind to win the second set. The Vikings jumped out to early leads of 7-2 and 9-3 before Milwaukee closed to within 10-8 on a kill by Neuberger. The Panthers eventually forged a 17-all tie on a Neuberger kill and took the lead for good at 19-18 on another kill from Neuberger. Milwaukee advantage grew to 24-20 on a CSU error and then yet another kill by Neuberger gave Milwaukee a two-set lead in the match.

UWM then wrapped up the win with a solid performance in the third set. Milwaukee jumped out to a 7-4 lead after a Kolinske kill and pushed the edge to 16-12 following back-to-back kills by Hannah Blanchard. Cleveland State did pull to within 19-18 on a Logan Holthaus service ace and was still within a point at 23-22. But the Panthers answered with two-straight kills by Ruiz to finish off the set and match.

Grauce Kauth led CSU with nine kills as no Cleveland State player reached double figures. Nikki Holmes had a team-high 10 digs.

UIC 3, Wright State 0
The UIC volleyball team received 15 kills from junior Sara Sternard and defeated Wright State 3-0 (25-21, 25-21, 25-23) Friday night inside the Flames Athletic Center. The Flames put down 43 kills while improving to 7-14 overall and 2-4 in the Horizon League.

Wright State (6-18, 0-6 Horizon League) was held to 33 kills and a .159 attack percentage in its third consecutive loss to UIC. The Raiders held a 22-20 advantage in the third set but allowed the Flames to score five out of the last six points of the match.

Sternard was named the Horizon League Offensive Player of the Week Monday and followed up the award with a match-high 15 kills on 26 attempts (.385 attack percentage). She put down six kills in both the first and third sets, including the final point of the match.

Sternard also added two of UIC’s seven service aces. Over the last nine matches, Sternard is hitting at a stellar .405 clip (108 kills on 222 attempts).
Senior MaryKate Imrie delivered an all-around solid effort with 33 assists, eight digs, two kills and two block assists. Imrie, who owns 3,324 career assists, handed out 12 assists in both the second and third sets.

Senior Justine Garcia recorded her 11th consecutive double-digit dig performance with a match-high 16 digs. She also added two service aces to boost her team-leading season total to 26.

Freshman Kara Johnson compiled eight kills, two service aces and 10 digs for her third consecutive double-digit dig effort. She owns six aces over the last three matches.

Junior Molly McCoy saw her first action since Sept. 28 and put down seven kills on 18 swings off the bench. Despite missing the last four matches, McCoy ranks third on the squad with 164 kills this season.

UIC ran out to a four point advantage in the first set before Wright State narrowed the lead to one at 16-15. The Flames responded by scoring six out of the next seven points and ultimately won the set, 25-21.

The second set featured big rallies by both squads. Wright State held a 12-9 advantage and UIC rallied to take a 16-13 lead. The Raiders would respond by tying the set at 18-18 before a five-point run by the Flames put the set out of reach.

Wright State held a 19-13 advantage in the third set following an eight-point rally with Ashley Langjahr serving. UIC fought back by scoring seven out of the next nine points to narrow the WSU lead to 21-20. Johnson’s third kill of the set gave the Flames a 23-22 advantage and Sternard’s 15th kill of the match sealed the sweep.

Ellen Sanf had a team-high nine kills for the Raiders, while Alana Smith had 15 digs to pace WSU’s defensive effort.

Valparaiso 3, Oakland 1
On the back of another monster effort from senior Sarah Dooms, who surpassed the 1,000 kill milestone for her career Friday evening, Valparaiso improved to 17-4 and 5-1 in Horizon League play with a 3-1 (25-18, 23-25, 25-20, 25-13) victory over Oakland at the ARC.

Dooms entered the night needing just nine kills to reach the 1,000-kill mark, and did so with a termination early in the third set, becoming just the 13th player in program history to tally four digits in kills for her career. Already well past 1,000 digs, the senior is also just the seventh player all-time at Valpo to reach 1,000 kills and 1,000 digs in a career. Dooms hit the milestone on another impressive night, leading all players by hitting .364 with 18 kills, while also picking up 12 digs.

Valparaiso claimed the first set on Friday evening with a stellar offensive performance, hitting .429 with 17 kills in the opening frame. The Crusaders led nearly start to finish, finally pulling away with a 6-2 run late in the set. It was just the second time in Valpo's last six matches that it has won the opening set.
The Golden Grizzlies would tie the match up heading into the in-game break, however. After an early Valpo lead, Oakland went on an 11-4 run to go ahead 17-11, but the Crusaders fought back, eventually stringing together four consecutive points to tie the set at 20-all. After the teams traded sideouts, though, Oakland put together back-to-back points to go up 23-21 and the teams just traded points the rest of the set as the Golden Grizzlies took the second frame.

The defense stepped up starting in the third set, as five Crusader blocks led to Oakland hitting at a -.081 clip in that frame. Seniors Ellen Vanden Berg and Janelle Hobbs combined on a pair of blocks in a five-point spurt which also featured kills from Vanden Berg and Dooms, giving Valpo a 19-14 lead. Oakland would rattle off four straight points to close back within one at 19-18, but Dooms ended the run with a kill and Vanden Berg and Hobbs followed with yet another rejection to keep the Golden Grizzlies at bay.

The Valpo defense again forced Oakland to attack at a negative percentage in the final set, while the Crusaders went on a pair of runs on the service of freshman Rachel Bruinsma. Bruinsma first stepped back to the service line with the Crusaders ahead 2-1 and proceeded to serve six straight points to give Valpo a lead it would not relinquish. Then, later in the set, Valpo led 16-11 when Bruinsma rotated back into the service spot, and seven consecutive points later, the match was nearly sewn up, with the match eventually ending on Dooms' 18th kill of the contest.

Valpo's offense hit .224 with 52 kills on Friday, led by the effort of Dooms as five different Crusaders totaled at least six kills on the evening. Sophomore Kelsey Berrington handed out 26 assists to lead all players.

Defensively, Valpo totaled 88 digs, out-digging Oakland (8-13, 2-4 Horizon) by 17 digs. Berrington and freshman Morganne Longoria tied for team-high honors with 19 digs, while Bruinsma posted a career-best 14 digs to help out as well. At the net, the Crusaders continued their strong blocking of late, totaling 11 team blocks, nine of which came in the final two sets and led by seven rejections from Vanden Berg.

Oakland failed to place any players in double figures in the kills category, as Cassie Pelloni led the Golden Grizzlies with nine kills. Mary Grassano posted a match-best 20 digs.

Youngstown State 3, Green Bay 1
Youngstown State senior Jenna Cavanaugh had nine kills and was part of seven of the Penguins' 13.5 blocks in a 3-1 victory at Green Bay on Friday evening. The set scores were 17-25, 25-15, 25-22, 25-19.

The Penguins won for the eighth time in 10 matches and improved to 4-2 in Horizon League play. They now sit alone in third place, two games behind Saturday's opponent, Milwaukee. Youngstown State beat Green Bay for the first time since 2008.

Alexis Egler registered a team-high 10 kills, and Erika West tied for match-high honors with 14 digs. Casey D'Ambrose (19) and Jessie Gerig (16) combined for 35 assists, and sophomore Lauren Thompson had perhaps the best match of her career with six kills and four blocks.

Green Bay, which dropped a match behind the Penguins with its 3-3 record, was led by Leah Van Zeeland's 13 kills.

The Phoenix hit .276 in the opening set and jumped out to a 6-1 lead while cruising to victory. YSU got no closer than 6-3, and 9-4 was the last time the margin was five. The Penguins, though, responded in a big way in the second set and essentially flipped roles.

Youngstown State scored six of the first seven points in the second set, and Thompson in on three of those points. The Penguins separated themselves with a 7-2 run that gave them a 17-6 lead. YSU hit .423 in the set, a big step up from minus-.034 in the opener.

Neither team led by more than one in the third set until Green Bay scored four straight points to take a 12-8 advantage. The Phoenix lead was 16-11 when YSU scored seven consecutive points to go up 18-16. Johnson and Ryan combined for a block twice, and Egler had a block to end the run. The Guins did not trail again and fought through ties at 21 and 22 to pull out the 25-22 win. Cavanaugh's kill broke the tie at 22, and she combined on a block with Johnson for the third time in the set on set point.

The lead changed hands five times in the fourth set before a seven-point run by the Penguins put them ahead 18-12. Ryan had two blocks and a kill during the run, her only three points of the set. Green Bay scored the next three points to force a YSU timeout, but the Penguins were able to regroup and pulled away at 25-19.