CLEVELAND, Ohio – The Cleveland State volleyball team opened its home slate Friday evening, picking up a five-set victory over UTRGV as part of the Holiday Inn Express Downtown Cleveland CSU Invitational. With the win, the Vikings are now 4-1 on the year.

For the second straight match Liberty Torres tallied 20 kills, while Laken Voss added 11 kills and Nia Hall chipped in 10 to lead the Viking offense.

Ella Mihacevich tallied 43 assists, nine kills and four service aces on the night.

The Viking defense was led by Emma Walker with 23 digs, while Voss added 13. As a team, the Vikings combined for 13.0 total blocks, including eight from Allana Appleby and five from Hall.

After dropping the first set, the Vikings were able to even the match with a convincing 25-14 win in the second frame.

Cleveland State carried its momentum into the third set then, as a trio of Mihacevich kills and a Torres block gave the Vikings a 16-9 lead midway through the frame. The Vikings then extended their lead to 22-16 following a Voss service ace, while a Hall kill closed out the 25-20 victory.

Despite UTRGV bouncing back with a win in the fourth set, the Vikings were able to turn the momentum into their favor during the fifth set.

After trading points to begin the frame, the Vikings rattled off five straight points, gaining an 8-3 edge on a Mihacevich service ace. Cleveland State was then able to fend off a UTRGV run, regaining a 13-9 advantage following a Voss kill and a Voss/Julia Jozefov block.

The Vikings were then able to gain match point on a Voss kill, before a UTRGV error closed out the 15-12 set victory.

Cleveland State will return to action tomorrow, hosting Wyoming at 12:00 p.m. to close out the Holiday Inn Express Downtown Cleveland CSU Invitational.