Sept. 12, 2009

Final Stats

Contact: Greg Murphy

CULLOWHEE, N.C. - Cleveland State earned its third straight sweep at the VB Rags Western Carolina Invitational, defeating Gardner-Webb, 3-0, on Saturday morning.

The win, CSU's eighth sweep of the season, moved the Vikings to 9-2 this season, while Gardner-Webb fell to 3-7.

Match scores were 25-22, 25-15, 25-16.

"I was pleased with the way we played this weekend," head coach Chuck Voss said. "I thought all three of our wins were total team efforts. We have a short turnaround time with Wright State on Tuesday night and that will be a big since its the first league match of the season. We have to be able to get off to a good start in the conference."

Amy Benz paced the Vikings with 11 kills and did not commit an error in 20 attempts (.550). Liz Fazio added nine kills, while Beth Greulich, Lindsay Griffith and Jordan Goad chipped in six kills each.

Goad flirted with a triple-double, adding 31 assists and nine digs, while Maggie Bonomini recorded a match-high 11 digs.

CSU fell behind in the first set, 8-4, before chipping away and taking its first lead (21-20) on a Fazio kill. The Vikings still held a one point advantage (23-22) after a GWU kill, but another Fazio kill and a GWU attack error gave the Vikings the set.

The Vikings left little doubt in set two, breaking a 6-6 tie with an 11-2 run to assume a 17-8 lead.

CSU once again pulled away midway through the third set as they broke open a two point lead (13-11) with a 12-5 run to end the match. Goad led the run with three kills and three assists down the stretch as the Vikings clinched yet another sweep.

CSU hit .240, while holding GWU to a .074 attack percentage as the Vikings finished with 10 blocks.

The Vikings will return to action on Tuesday, Sept. 15, when CSU hosts Wright State at 7:00 p.m. in Woodling Gym. It will be the Horizon League opener for both teams.