CHAPEL HILL, NC – The Cleveland State volleyball team picked up its first win of the 2024 season Saturday, earning a 3-0 victory over Western Carolina. With the win, the Vikings are now 1-1 on the young season.
Cleveland State will close out play at the three-day tournament tomorrow, taking on College of Charleston at 11:00 a.m.
The Cleveland State offense was led by Nia Hall with 12 kills and Liberty Torres with 11 kills, while Laken Voss made her season debut with seven kills and 10 digs.
Ella Mihacevich finished with 31 assists on the day, along with seven digs, four kills and two blocks.
As a team, the Vikings held Western Carolina to a .075 hitting percentage, paced by Emma Walker who posted her first 20-dig performance of the season finishing with 22 on the day. In addition, Vayda Delventhal added nine digs.
Allana Appleby posted a team-best five blocks, while Hall finished with two blocks.
During the opening set, the two teams traded points throughout the beginning of the frame until midway through when the Vikings tallied back-to-back kills from Laken Voss and Nia Hall to earn an 18-14 advantage. Cleveland State was able to hold the edge for the rest of the set then, with a pair of Hall kills closing out the 25-23 set one victory.
The Vikings carried their momentum into the second set, gaining a sizable lead at 15-8 midway through the frame on a pair of Liberty Torres kills. CSU held the advantage over the next few plays, until Western Carolina worked its way back into the frame, tying the set at 18-18 to force a CSU timeout.
Out of the timeout, the Vikings notched four straight points, regaining a 22-18 advantage on a trio of kills from Voss and Hall and a WCU error. CSU then closed out the set by posting the final two points, gaining a 2-0 match lead following a 25-21 set two victory.
Cleveland State then controlled play throughout the third set, jumping out to a 6-1 lead before extending the advantage to 15-7 midway through on a Julia Jozefov kill. The Vikings held a sizable lead throughout the rest of the frame, closing out the 25-16 third set win by posting five of the final seven points.
