Cleveland State Volleyball Set For #HLVB Tournament

8 hours ago

csuvikings.com

QUICK SETS For the third straight season the Cleveland State volleyball team has earned a spot in the Horizon League Tournament field and will begin play as the No. 3 seed with a first round contest against sixth-seeded IU Indy on Friday, November 22. The two teams will be battling for a place in the semifinals on Saturday, November 23, with the #HLVB championship match slated for Sunday, November 24. ENTERING THE TOURNAMENT… The Vikings own a 20-9 overall record, and posted an 11-7 mark in Horizon League regular season contests…Cleveland State has won three of its last four matches…The Vikings enter the tournament as the No. 3 seed and will begin play in the opening round. CSU IN THE HORIZON LEAGUE TOURNAMENT This will mark the 22nd appearance in the #HLVB Tournament for the Vikings under head coach Chuck Voss. Under Voss, the Vikings have advanced to the championship match of the Horizon League Tournament nine times (2004, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2012, 2015, 2016, 2017) claiming the title during the 2007, 2012, 2015, 2016, 2017 seasons. Cleveland State has advanced to the semifinals of the #HLVB Tournament 16 times, and owns an overall record of 22-16 in Horizon League Championship action. TRIO NAMED TO ALL-LEAGUE FIRST TEAM The Vikings had three representatives on this year's All-Horizon League First Team, as Nia Hall, Liberty Torres and Emma Walker all earned postseason recognition. This marks the second All-League honor for Torres and Walker, while it's the first accolade for Hall. Torres (3.99 kills/set) and Hall (3.22 kills/set) have led the Cleveland State offense this season, while Walker (5.39 digs/set) has paced the Viking defense. …APPLEBY NAMED TO ALL-FRESHMAN TEAM Redshirt-freshman Allana Appleby earned a spot on the All-Freshman Team after combining for 76 kills and 99 blocks on the year. Appleby is averaging 1.14 blocks per set, ranking second among league players. Last weekend, Appleby finished with 11 total blocks in the weekend opener at Milwaukee, marking her first double-digit block effort of the season. WALKER & TORRES NAMED TO #HLVB ALL-ACADEMIC TEAM Earlier this week, the Cleveland State duo of Emma Walker and Liberty Torres was named to the #HLVB All-Academic Team, marking the fifth straight year that at least two Vikings have earned All-Academic recognition. This duo has combined for 10 CSU Dean's List or President's List honors, with Walker owning a 3.65 GPA in psychology and Torres owning a matching 3.65 GPA in health sciences. VIKINGS RECORD 20-WIN SEASON With a 3-0 victory at Milwaukee in the regular season finale, Cleveland State notched its 20th win of the 2024 campaign, marking the 18th 20-win season in program history. Under head coach Chuck Voss, the Vikings have recorded nine 20-win seasons, with the last coming during 2017. WALKER EXTENDS CAREER DIGS RECORD Senior libero Emma Walker enters #HLVB Tournament play at the top of the CSU Career Record Book, owning 1,705 total digs. Walker set the record against Oakland earlier this year, overtaking a record previously held by Jordan Bateman since 2008. Averaging 5.39 digs per set this season, Walker has tallied 15 20-dig performances, and is the first Viking all-time to eclipse 1,700 career digs. TORRES CLOSING IN ON 1,000 CAREER KILLS Liberty Torres finished regular season play just shy of recording her 1,000th career kill, entering tournament play with 990 career kills. Torres leads the Viking offense averaging 3.99 kills per set on the year, combining for 431 total kills. So far this season, Torres has recorded six 20-kill matches, including a 23-kill performance against Milwaukee last weekend. MIHACEVICH WITH 2,000+ ASSISTS & 1,000+ DIGS Graduate transfer Ella Mihacevich enters #HLVB Tournament play with 2,000+ career assists and 1,000+ career digs. Mihacevich eclipsed the 2,000-assist mark earlier this year, while she recorded her 1,000th career dig at Milwaukee last time out. In addition, Mihacevich also has 522 career kills, including 133 this season. Among league players, Mihacevich ranks second averaging 10.04 assists per set, while ranking fourth with a .271 hitting percentage on the year. VIKINGS ON DEFENSE Cleveland State enters the weekend as one of the top defensive teams in the Horizon League, leading the league in digs (17.61) and blocks (2.27), while ranking second in opponent hitting percentage (.182). Through 29 matches played, the Vikings have combined for 245.0 total blocks, including 11 double-digit block outings, while they have also combined for 1,902 total digs. HEAD COACH CHUCK VOSS Chuck Voss is in his 25th season at the helm of the Vikings, and owns a 427-302 (.585) overall record at Cleveland State. Last season, Voss recorded the 400th victory of his head coaching career in a 3-0 decision at IUPUI. Under Voss the Vikings have recorded 19 winning seasons, including a streak of 10 straight from 2009-2018. Cleveland State has eclipsed the 20-win mark nine times since Voss took over the program, and has captured Horizon League Tournament titles five times under his guidance.