Cougars Head West This Week for Final Road Swing of Season

Match #26
Chicago State (3-22, 1-9 WAC) at CSU Bakersfield (10-13, 7-3 WAC)
Thursday, Nov. 3, 2016 - 9 p.m.
Icardo Center - Bakersfield, Calif.
Live Stats

Match #27
Chicago State at Grand Canyon (4-18, 0-10 WAC)
Saturday, Nov. 5, 2016 - 2 p.m.
GCU Arena - Phoenix, Ariz.
Live Stats

CHICAGO -

This Week: The Chicago State volleyball team hits the road for the final time in the regular season this week by heading west for a couple of Western Athletic Conference matches. CSU kicks off the week Thursday night at CSU Bakersfield with the first serve set for 9 p.m. then travels to Phoenix for its road finale at Grand Canyon on Saturday beginning at 2 p.m.

Scouting CSU: Chicago State heads into the week sporting a 3-22 season record with a 1-9 mark in WAC play. CSU dropped a pair of conference matches at the Jacoby Dickens Center last week to Seattle (2-3) and Utah Valley (1-3). Junior outside hitter Juma Armando (Toronto, Canada/Archbishop Romero) leads the Green and White with a team-best 212 kills for an average of 2.52 kills per set and senior right side hitter Dzeni Hadzisehovic (Belgrade, Serbia/First Private School for Catering and Tourism) ranks second at 199 kills at a team-high 2.65 per set. Junior setter Kelsey Taylor (Miami, Fla./Westminster Christian School) is dishing out a team-leading 4.17 assists a set, while freshman middle hitter Sofia Gruden (Washburn, Ill./Metamora) has produced a team-best 71 blocks (66 assisted, five solo) to average 0.88 blocks a set. Freshman defensive specialist Megan Klavitter (Fenton, Mich./Linden) has recorded team highs of 252 digs (2.90 per set) and 20 service aces for the Cougars.

Scouting CSUB: CSU Bakersfield looks to build on a four-match winning streak heading into its final homestand this week while producing a 10-13 record and has recorded a 7-3 mark against WAC opposition. CSUB ended a three-match road swing last weekend with a pair of 3-1 victories against UT Rio Grande Valley and New Mexico State. Senior outside hitter Carol Grasso, the reigning WAC Player of the Week, currently averages a team-high 3.85 kills and 3.20 digs per set while adding a team-leading 42 service aces. Junior setter Fabiana Andrade is producing a team-best seven assists per set, while senior libero Jocelyn Rodriguez leads the team with an average of 3.61 digs a set.

Scouting GCU: Grand Canyon has tallied a 4-18 record on the year while sitting at 0-10 in conference play heading into Thursday's home contest versus UMKC at GCU Arena. The Lopes dropped road conference contests last week to NM State (0-3) and UTRGV (0-3) which brought their losing skid to 17 matches. GCU is led offensively by sophomore outside hitter Katrice Pond's average of 3.17 kills per set. Freshman setter Heidi Carpenter has posted team highs of 7.65 assists per set and 27 service aces. The Lopes' defense is paced by junior middle blocker Hannah Hicks with 66 total blocks (59 assisted, seven solo – 0.90 bps) and freshman libero Emma Ahern at 2.41 digs per set.

Jumpin' Juma: Armando has been on a tear over CSU's last five matches with averages of 4.39 kills and 2.83 digs per set to go along with a .315 hitting percentage. The newcomer from Toronto has also tallied four consecutive double-digit kill matches and two straight double-doubles. She recorded career highs of 20 kills and 19 digs in the Cougars' five-set battle against Seattle last Thursday.

Up Next: The Cougars will conclude the regular season next week at the Jacoby Dickens Center with two WAC matches against NM State on Nov. 10 at 7 p.m. before hosting UTRGV on Nov. 12 for homecoming and senior day with the first serve at 12 p.m.

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Players Mentioned

#3 Juma Armando: OH; 5' 11"; Junior

#12 Megan Klavitter: DS; 5' 3"; Freshman

#10 Dzeni Hadzisehovic: RS; 6' 5"; Senior

#5 Kelsey Taylor: S; 5' 8"; Junior

#7 Sofia Gruden: MB; 6' 1"; Freshman

Players Mentioned

#3 Juma Armando
: 5' 11"; Junior
: OH

#12 Megan Klavitter
: 5' 3"; Freshman
: DS

#10 Dzeni Hadzisehovic
: 6' 5"; Senior
: RS

#5 Kelsey Taylor
: 5' 8"; Junior
: S

#7 Sofia Gruden
: 6' 1"; Freshman
: MB

Scoreboard

Players Mentioned

Players Mentioned