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The Viking Report (Aug. 24)
Aug. 24, 2009
Contact: Brian McCann
Complete Release in PDF Format
Three Sports In Action As Athletic Year Kicks Off. . . With classes underway for fall semester at Cleveland State, the athletic schedule for the fall Viking athletic programs kicks off as well this week as three of the eight teams that will play during the fall will see action but just two of the seven events this week will be played at home. The women's volleyball team will be the busiest squad, playing matches against Air Force, Canisius, Fairleigh-Dickinson and host LaSalle at the LaSalle Invitational. The tourney will be played over two days from Fri-Sat., Aug. 28-29. The women's soccer team continues its season with a pair of matches. The Vikings will make the short drive to Kent, OH on Friday (Aug. 28) to meet Kent State beginning at 4:00 p.m. before returning home to host Eastern Illinois on Sunday (Aug. 30) at 12:00 noon at Krenzler Field. The only other team in action will be men's soccer, which will play its lone exhibition contest of the pre-season when Bowling Green visits Krenzler Field on Wednesday (Aug. 26) at 7:00 p.m. Volleyball Opens Season With Four Matches At LaSalle Invitational... Cleveland State begins its 38th season of intercollegiate competition when the Vikings travel to Philadelphia, Pa., for four matches at the LaSalle Invitational on Friday and Saturday (Aug. 28-29). The Vikings will square off with Air Force (12:00 p.m.) and Canisius (7:00 p.m.) on Friday before matches with Fairleigh Dickinson (11:00 a.m.) and LaSalle (3:30 p.m.) on Saturday. "I'm excited to get the season underway," 10th-year head coach Chuck Voss said. "We've had some really intense preseason workouts and it will be nice to finally get out and play against another team. We have a lot of talent and depth at each position and that will give us a lot of different options that we can try out." The Vikings, who were picked to finish third in the Horizon League preseason poll, return five starters and 11 letterwinners from last year's squad that advanced to the league title game for the second straight year and the third time in the last four seasons. Leading the returnees are senior Beth Greulich and junior Amy Benz who are both two-time first team All-Horizon League picks. Greulich led the team with 295 kills last season, while Benz topped the Horizon League in hitting percentage (.303) and was third in blocks (1.06). Men's Soccer To Face Bowling Green In Exhibition Tilt... The CSU men's soccer squad is working to pick up where they left off last season, beginning with an exhibition match against Bowling Green on Wendesday night (Aug. 27) at 7:00 p.m. at Krenzler Field. "We want to focus on ball possession during the exhibition matches and preseason workouts, so that we create more offensive opportunities," Head Coach Ali Kazemaini said. "The key is controlling the possessions that we have and working to get back to where we were at the end of last season." The Vikings, who finished in third place in the Horizon League last year before dropping a 1-0 decision to UIC in the title game of the league tourney, has been picked to finish fourth in the league this season. The 2009 squad is led by 10 returning starters and 20 returning letterwinners including 2008 All-Horizon League honorees, Ubiparipovic (first team), senior Mitch Boyer (second team), senior Stephen Byer (all-newcomer team) and sophomore Justin Mancine (all-newcomer team). The Vikings open the regular season on against St. Bonaventure on Tuesday, Sept. 1 at Krenzler Field. Women's Soccer To Open Home Slate vs. Eastern Illinois... The women's soccer team will stay close to home this week, traveling to nearby Kent State for a 4:00 p.m. match on Friday (Aug. 28) before returning home to open the 2009 home slate against Eastern Illinois on Sunday (Aug. 30) starting at 12:00 noon at Krenzler Field. The Vikings opened the 2009 season last week, claiming home exhibition wins over Gannon (3-0 on Aug. 16) and Mercyhurst (4-1 on Aug. 18) before dropping a 2-0 decision at Marshall in the regular season opener on Sunday (Aug. 24). "The Marshall match was disappointing because we had played so well during the exhibition matches," sixth year head coach Derrek Falor said. "We started out strong, but the tide turned early in the match and we seemed to be a step slow the rest of the afternoon. We need to get back to practice this week and iron out our shortcomings and start to put some wins on the board." The two exhibition wins marked the first time in program history that the Vikings were undefeated in the preseason. Prior to this season, CSU managed only a 1-7-1 record in the previous five exhibition seasons. The preseason was also a good one for sophomore midfielder Natalie Daniels, who had a hand in five of CSU's seven preseason goals, scoring twice and handing out three assists. Newcomer Jamie Avona got off to a strong start as well, scoring a goal in the win over Gannon and handing out a pair of assists against Mercyhurst. Viking High Fives Jordan Goad: The volleyball sophomore returns as the team's setter after handing out a CSU freshman-record 1,186 assists last season. Norris Cole & Joe Latas: The men's basketball duo represented Cleveland State well during international tours over the last couple of weeks. Cole traveled to New Zealand with Athletes-In-Action while Latas made the rounds of Prague, Slovakia and Austria. Natalie Daniels: The top returning scorer on the women's soccer team with 16 points last year, the sophomore showed in the preseason that she was ready for her sophomore campaign, leading CSU with seven points (2 goals, 3 assists) in two wins. The Schedule Ahead For The Vikings Aug. 26 (Wednesday) Women's Soccer at Kent State Men's Soccer hosts Bowling Green (Exhibition) Volleyball vs. Canisius (LaSalle Inv.) Aug. 29 (Saturday) Volleyball at LaSalle (LaSalle Inv.) Aug. 30 (Sunday)
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