Sept. 24, 2005

Final Stats

FAIRBORN, Ohio - Cleveland State narrowly defeated Wright State, outscoring the Raiders by just two points in a 33-31, 25-30, 32-30, 30-27 victory on Saturday afternoon. With the win the Vikings evened their Horizon League record at 1-1 and improved to 8-5 overall, while WSU dropped to 5-7 overall and 1-1 in the league.

The Raiders served three different times for the first game, but each time CSU had an answer. First, Danielle Siefker tallied a kill to knot the score at 29-29, and then Siefker and Mel Snyder combined on a block to tie the score again at 30-30. Following a WSU kill, Jenna Maddocks answered with a kill of her own to spark a 3-0 run to close out the frame.

After dropping the second game, the Vikings trailed early in the third frame but a rally gave them game point at 29-28. However, the Raiders responded with back-to-back kills to earn a game point of their own. Nickole Kennedy answered with a kill and another block by Siefker and Snyder and a WSU hitting error put CSU up two games to one.

The Vikings scored the first three points of the fourth game and pushed the lead to as much as seven (9-2 and 13-6) before eventually holding on for a 30-27 victory to secure the match.

"I'm proud of the way we responded today," CSU head coach Chuck Voss said. "I made it very clear that I wasn't happy with the way we played last night and that this was a must-win. We made the big plays when we had to today."

Kennedy matched her season-high with 21 kills and added seven blocks. Siefker tallied 16 kills, a .405 hitting percentage and a season-high 11 blocks, while Jenni Ramminger equaled her career-high with 11 kills for the second consecutive match. Maddocks put together her sixth double-double of the year with 11 kills and 15 digs, while Snyder dished out a career-high 60 assists. Alisa Hatcher led CSU with 19 digs.

Wright State's Sarah Poling led all players with 22 kills and 19 digs, while Alisa Kimbro nearly tallied a triple-double with 11 kills, 11 digs and nine blocks. Taylor Gerlach notched a match-best 25 digs.

The Raiders held slight advantages in hitting percentage (.240 to .218) and digs (90 to 82), while the kills were even at 74. Both teams had excellent blocking afternoons with WSU holding a slim 17.0 to 16.5 advantage.

Cleveland State plays just one match next week, as the Vikings host Youngstown State on Friday, Sept. 30 at 7:00 p.m. in Woodling Gymnasium. Call (216) 687-4848 for ticket information.