Sept. 22, 2003

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This Week: Sept. 26 at UW-Milwaukee (10-3), 8:00 p.m.
Sept. 27 at UW-Green Bay (10-3), 3:00 p.m.

Quick Sets: Cleveland State opens conference play this weekend with a swing through Wisconsin...UW-Milwaukee and UW-Green Bay enter play this week with identical 10-3 records...CSU is 1-2 in league-openers under Chuck Voss...with their win over Virginia Tech on Saturday, the Vikings finished 3-0 against the Big East this year...in losses to Eastern Michigan and Northern Illinois last week, CSU was on the losing end of back-to-back five game matches for the first time since 1989.

Vikings Hit Road For Swing Through Dairy State: Cleveland State begins Horizon League play this weekend against UW-Milwaukee and UW-Green Bay, both of which are tied atop the league standings at 10-3 heading into the first weekend of conference play. The Panthers have dominated the series with the Vikings, winning 21-of-25 meetings, including 17 in a row. The last time CSU defeated UWM came during the 1995 season and its only win in Milwaukee was in 1992. The Vikings have fared a little better against the Phoenix, holding a 15-11 series edge. Each team won at home last season, which snapped CSU's eight-match winning streak in Green Bay.

Head Coach Chuck Voss: Head coach Chuck Voss is in his fourth year at the helm of the Vikings. Voss has a 47-54 (.465) mark at Cleveland State and an 80-90 (.471) overall record in six seasons. Last year, he guided the Vikings to their first winning season since 1983. In addition, the 18 victories were the most since the 1988 squad won 20 contests.

Green & White Among Nation's Best: Cleveland State stands among the national leaders in the most recent NCAA statistics. Individually, junior middle hitter Jamie Bouyer is ninth in the country in hitting percentage, while freshman middle hitter Danielle Siefker is 14th in blocks per game. As a team, the Vikings are 17th in blocks per game

Bouyer Continues To Dominate: Junior middle hitter Jamie Bouyer has picked right up where she left off after earning all-league honors in 2002. She is leading the league by more than 50 points with a .441 hitting percentage and ranks sixth with 4.04 kpg. The Bedford Heights, Ohio native has led the Vikings in kills in 12-of-15 matches this year, including a career-high 26 kills against both Northern Illinois and Virginia Tech. With at least 20 kills in all three matches last week, she now has seven 20+ kill efforts in the last two seasons. Bouyer has been named to the all-tournament team after leading the Vikings to second-place finishes at each of CSU's last three tournaments.

Great Wall Of Cleveland: It's no wonder that Viking opponents are hitting just .163 this year (second lowest in the league) - they're having trouble getting the ball across the net. At 2.95 blocks per game, Cleveland State currently leads the Horizon League, well ahead of second-place Youngstown State (2.69). Individually, Danielle Siefker (1.42), Jamie Bouyer (1.40) and Nickole Kennedy (1.16) rank first, second and fifth among the league's blocking leaders. Through 15 matches, the Vikings have been out-blocked only twice -- against IPFW (14.0-9.0) and St. Francis (7.0-3.0).

A Little On Last Week: Cleveland State rebounded from a pair of tough five-game losses to defeat Virginia Tech on Saturday afternoon. On Tuesday, the Vikings led Eastern Michigan 2-0, but watched as the Eagles rallied to take the final three games. In Saturday's first match at the Virginia Tech Invitational, CSU and Northern Illinois split the first two games and were tied 10-10 in the fifth, but the Huskies took five of the last six points to win the match. After dropping the first game against the Hokies, the Vikings responded by sweeping the next three games with relative ease. Both junior middle hitter Jamie Bouyer (.523 hitting percentage, 52 kills, 18 blocks) and junior setter Kelly Crain (10 kills, 117 assists, 16 digs) were named to the all-tournament team.

Vikings Out Of Gate Quickly...Again: For the second year in a row, the Vikings have a solid overall record after completing their early season tournament play. Off to a 10-5 start this season, CSU entered league play in 2002 with an 11-3 mark.

Siefker In The Middle Of It All: Freshman middle hitter Danielle Siefker has left quite an impression on opponents so far this season. The Kalida, Ohio native led the Vikings with a .500 hitting percentage (30-3-54) and 26 blocks on her way to earning all-tournament honors at the season-opening Western New York Tournament. On the year, she leads the Horizon League with 1.42 bpg and is seventh in the conference with a .297 hitting percentage.

New-Look Woodling Equals Same Result: The court may have looked different but the outcome was the same. When Cleveland State swept Oakland on Sept. 12, it marked the eighth consecutive home-opening victory (six of which have been sweeps) for the Vikings dating back to 1996.

Bouyer, Crain Climb Career Charts: Despite having played just a little over two years, juniors Jamie Bouyer and Kelly Crain are already leaving their mark on the Cleveland State career lists. Bouyer ranks third in block assists (260), eighth in solo blocks (49) and fifth in total blocks (309). Crain is currently third on the assist rankings with 2,670 and has a good shot of moving into second place by the end of the year.

Vikings Sixth In Preseason Poll: Cleveland State was been picked to finish in a tie for sixth in the Horizon League in the league's preseason poll. The Vikings received 18 points, tied with Wright State. UW-Milwaukee was picked to win the regular season, garnering six of eight first place votes in the pre-season poll. Loyola (43 points), the 2002 regular season champ, and UW-Green Bay (37 points) each received a first-place nod. UIC was fourth in the poll with 27 points, followed by Butler with 25 points. Following CSU and WSU is Youngstown State with eight votes.

Up Next: The Vikings return home next week for a pair of Horizon League matches. CSU welcomes Loyola Chicago to Woodling on Friday, Oct. 3, followed by a contest the next day against Illinois-Chicago.