CLEVELAND, Ohio – The Cleveland State volleyball team opened up its weekend series against Green Bay Friday, dropping a hard-fought five-set match against the Phoenix.
Bryn VanVleet finished with a team-best 14 kills, while Alyssa Cerovac added 11 and Julia Jozefov chipped in eight.
Allison Salazar recorded 42 assists on the night.
Defensively, Vayda Delventhal posted a team-best 24 digs, while Audrey Ellis added nine and Addison Koppelman tallied seven.
The Vikings combined for 15.0 total blocks, including nine from JeriLynn Koehler and six from Jozefov.
After dropping the first set, the Vikings rebounded in the second frame, gaining a 15-7 lead midway through following a pair of Ellis service aces and a pair of Phoenix errors.
The Vikings then held a sizeable advantage throughout the rest of the frame, closing out the 25-14 victory with back-to-back points on a Salazar kill and another Green Bay error.
The two teams then battled during the third set, as Cleveland State was able to gain a 17-12 lead at the midway point, before Green Bay responded with an 8-2 run to regain the lead at 20-19.
The two teams then traded points over the next few plays, until a VanVleet kill gave the Vikings set point at 24-23. A Delventhal service ace on the ensuing play clinched the set for the Vikings then at 25-23.
The Phoenix answered with a win in the fourth set, forcing a fifth and deciding set.
Despite Cleveland State opening the frame with the first two points, Green Bay responded once again, gaining control of the set at the 10-7 mark.
The Vikings were able to work their way back into the frame, including earning an 11-10 lead following back-to-back blocks from Koehler and Sophie Skidmore, but Green Bay was able to pull away late to claim the 15-12 fifth set.
The two teams will close out the weekend series at 1:00 p.m. tomorrow.
