CLEVELAND, Ohio – The Cleveland State volleyball team closed out its non-league slate Friday, dropping a 3-1 contest against Akron.
Four Vikings finished the match with double-digit kills, including
Alyssa Cerovac with 12.
Jazen DeBina,
JeriLynn Koehler and
Bryn VanVleet all ended with 10 kills.
Fiona Copper recorded 45 assists on the night, along with six digs and two blocks.
Defensively,
Vayda Delventhal had a team-best eight digs, while VanVleet added seven.
After dropping the first set, the Vikings rebounded in the second frame, picking up a 25-21 victory to even the match.
Cleveland State was able to gain a three-point lead midway through the set at 15-12 following a Cerovac kill and an Akron error. The Vikings then extended their lead at the 23-15 mark following a 5-0 run, capped off by a DeBina kill and another Akron error.
The Vikings then closed out the set with a Jozefov kill for the 25-21 victory.
Akron answered by picking up a win in the third set, putting the match at 2-1 Zips heading into the fourth frame.
The two teams played a back-and-forth start to the fourth set, including Cleveland State earning a 15-14 lead at the midway point. The two teams then traded points over the next few plays, before back-to-back points from a DeBina kill and a VanVleet/Koehler block knotted the score at 20-20.
After Akron held a 23-20 lead late in the frame, the Vikings notched three straight points, tying the set once again on a DeBina kill at 23-23, before Akron closed out the frame with two straight points to take the set and match victory.
The Vikings will now open Horizon League play with a two-match series at Purdue Fort Wayne next weekend.
