Aug. 25, 2006

Final Stats

PHILADELPHIA - Cleveland State opened the 2006 campaign with a 30-16, 30-17, 30-9 victory over Iona on the first day of the Temple Invitational. The Vikings hit .367 (51-13-101) to improve to 3-1 in their last four season-openers.

Playing in their first collegiate match, redshirt freshmen outside hitters Alexis Korovich (14 kills) and Liz Fazio (13) combined for 27 kills while making just six errors. Senior middle hitter Danielle Siefker hit .583, posting seven kills on 12 attempts with no errors.

On the defensive side, Korovich led all players with 14 digs, while sophomore libero Jordan Bateman notched 13 digs.

"I was really nervous before the match tonight," head coach Chuck Voss said. "With so many new faces, I wasn't sure how we were going to react. I was very pleased with how our freshman played, but we've still got a long way to go."

The Vikings limited the Gaels to a .075 hitting percentage (23-16-93) while holding significant advantages in aces (10-5) and digs (46-31).

Megan Dailey led Iona with 10 kills and six digs.

Cleveland State faces Lehigh at noon on Saturday (Aug. 26) followed by a 5:00 p.m. contest with the host Owls.