Ending the season on six straight losses, the Vikings look towards 2022
Cleveland State University volleyball did not have the season that they were hoping for, losing six straight to end the regular season. It was a season to forget for the Vikings as they simply could not string together enough wins consistently. Their longest winning streak during the season was four games between September and October, while their largest losing streak was a seven-game streak in September.
In their final road game of the season against UIC on Nov. 7, the team fell 3-0 but put up the best fight they could. Senior Erica Kostelac led the team with 14 kills while sophomore Abby Miller brought in 28 assists against a strong UIC team.
The Vikings would then bring it back home for their final two home games of the 2021 season taking on NKU and Wright St. They would once again fall 3-0 as they simply could not get the offense rolling against NKU on Nov. 12. Kostelac, again, would lead the team, and the day, in kills with 13 while senior London Portis would tack on seven more.
Miller proved she is an assist machine as she was credited with 30 assists out of the 38 kills the team had. A bright spot would be senior Lindsey Tout making her first appearance of 2021 as she was injured throughout the whole season. She recorded one dig on the night. The hitting percentage for Cleveland State was sub-.200 against NKU which helped lead to the dominant performance from NKU.
The tough season would come to a close on Nov. 13 as the Vikings would fall to Wright St. 3-1. It started out great for the Vikings as they would win the first set 25-20 however it would be all Wright St. from then on as they won the next three sets putting a damper on Senior Day for Kostelac and Tout.
Kostelac went out strong finishing with a career-high 21 kills leading the entire match between both teams. Miller continued her string of assists with another 36 being added to her stat sheet.
Following a devastating loss in the second set, the Vikings kept it close in sets three and four with a respective 25-23 loss followed by a 25-21 loss.
The Vikings will look to keep this season behind them as they will hold out hope for 2022. It certainly was not what they had hoped for at the beginning of the season, their final record being 8-21 with a 6-12 record in the Horizon League conference.
Kayleigh Connors