Cleveland State Women's Volleyball took on Gadsden State Community College in their home opener on Monday. Gadsden State defeated the Lady Cougars by a set score of 3-0.

 

The Gadsden State Lady Cardinals took an early lead against the Lady Cougars, leading in set one by a score of 12-5. After a round of back and forth scoring by the two teams, the Lady Cougars found themselves still down 16-7. Cleveland State starts to make a small run and thanks to an Ariana Smith spike, the Lady Cougars had shrunk their deficit to an 18-13 score. Cleveland State continues to make a push and with the help of an ace by Kate Essenberg, only trail by 3 points, 19-16 late in the first set. Unfortunately, that's as close as the Lady Cougars would get in set one, eventually losing by a score of 25-18.

 

Gadsden State again took an early lead in set two, with a 5-0 score over the Lady Cougars. Cleveland State responds with 2 points of their own and brings the score up to 5-2. The Lady Cougars managed to score three quick points before the Lady Cardinals go on a run, increasing their lead to a 15-5 score. Later on in set two, with the Lady Cougars down 21-8, Cleveland State capitalizes on a few Gadsden State errors to score three straight points making the score 21-11. Gadsden State responds with 4 points of their own and takes set two by a score of 25-13.

 

Now down 2 sets to 0, Cleveland State prepares for what could be the final set of the match. Set three begins and Gadsden State is off to the races, taking a commanding 8-3 lead. Cleveland State takes a timeout and discusses their gameplan for the rest of the set. Moving on through set two, Cleveland State finds themselves in a 19-13 hole. Not giving up, the Lady Cougars make a run of their own, pushing the score up to 22-17 still in favor of Gadsden State. The Lady Cardinals add 2 more points while the Lady Cougars add one of their own. Cleveland State ends up losing set 3 by a score of 25-20 and the matchup 3 sets to 0.

 

Next up on the schedule for the Lady Cougars, they'll travel to Bryan College for a match on Wednesday, August 29th at 7:00 PM.