FORT WAYNE, Ind. – The Cleveland State volleyball team opened up Horizon League play Friday, dropping a five-set match at Purdue Fort Wayne.
Bryn VanVleet led the Viking offense with 21 kills, while
Fiona Cooper recorded 44 assists on the night.
Cooper also tallied 15 digs for a double-double on the match, while
Jazen DeBina and
Vayda Delventhal both notched nine digs.
As a team, the Vikings combined for 11 service aces, including five from
Addison Koppelman and
Allison Salazar.
During the opening set, the Vikings were able to earn a 25-22 victory. Midway through the frame, the Vikings notched three straight points, earning a 16-11 advantage on a VanVleet kill. A few plays later Cleveland State once again notched a trio of points, with a
Julia Jozefov and VanVleet kill extending the Viking lead to 20-14.
The Vikings then posted the final two points of the set, with a Mastodon error and a
JeriLynn Koehler/VanVleet block closing out the 25-22 set win.
The Mastodons responded by picking up wins in the next two sets then, before Cleveland State evened the match with a 25-21 fourth set win.
The two teams played a back-and-forth start to the frame, until three straight kills from DeBina and VanVleet put Cleveland State up 18-14.
Although Purdue Fort Wayne was able to knot the score at 19-19 a few plays later, the Vikings answered with a 5-0 run, earning set point on a Salazar service ace, before closing out the 25-21 win with a Mastodon error.
Purdue Fort Wayne was then able to pick up a 15-9 win during the fifth set, claiming the 3-2 victory.
The Vikings will close out opening weekend of #HLVB play tomorrow, facing Purdue Fort Wayne at 2:00 p.m.
