Sept. 10, 2005

Final Stats

ANN ARBOR, Mich. - Cleveland State's offensive execution was too much for Akron to handle as the Vikings upended the Zips, 30-25, 30-28, 31-29 in their final match at the Michigan Pepsi/Nike Invitational. CSU finished 2-1 in the tournament and improved to 5-3 on the year with the victory.

The Vikings hit .313 (58-16-134) for the match while limiting Akron (5-4) to a .212 (57-24-156) hitting percentage. CSU also held a slim advantage in digs (59-53) and aces (4-2).

"Offensively, we played very well thanks to some solid passing," CSU head coach Chuck Voss said. "I wish we could have gotten the ball to Danielle [Siefker] at little more, but overall I'm pleased with how we played this weekend."

Emily Clark, Jenna Maddocks and Danielle Siefker each had 13 kills to lead the Vikings. Clark (21 digs) and Maddocks (10 digs) both tallied double-doubles, while Siefker posted a .706 (13-1-17) hitting percentage. Nickole Kennedy chipped in with 11 kills.

Jennifer Stewart paced Akron with 18 kills and 14 digs, while Emily Kocinski tallied 16 kills and 12 digs.

After leading for the majority of the first two games, CSU was forced to call a timeout trailing 27-25 in the third frame. The Vikings responded with back-to-back kills from Siefker and Maddocks to knot the score. Following a kill by the Zips, Siefker pounded down another kill and Alisa Hatcher ripped an ace to give CSU match point. Akron fought that off with a kill, but the Vikings answered with kills from Mel Snyder and Maddocks to close out the match.

Cleveland State is off until next weekend when it hosts the Medical Mutual CSU Invitational on Sept. 16-17 in Woodling Gymnasium. This year, first-timers Binghamton, Niagara and San Diego State are taking part in the event. Call (216) 687-4848 for ticket information.