The future is now. Cleveland State seniors gave Norris Cole the nickname "The Future" last year as they could see that then sophomore would be the leader of the young Vikings in the coming years. Cole showed what they were talking about this evening leading the Vikings with 38 points in a 78-64 win over Florida A&M this evening. It was the most points that the Dayton Dunbar product has scored at any level. Cole said after the game:

"I took it as it came. I wanted to have the offense under control and take what the defense gave me. The shot was falling today and my teammates were coming to me and the shots were falling tonight."

Head coach Gary Waters noted:

"Norris' play today was tremendous. He controlled the offense and he scored some points and that shows that good things are ahead for him if he can continue to do those two things. He took control of the game out there and played the best that I have ever seen him play this year. Not only did he play well offensively, but he defended against their best player. But we can't win against the big boys with Norris scoring 38."

Cleveland State volleyball was the top award winners today when the Horizon League announced its postseason volleyball honors. Head coach Chuck Voss was named Coach of the Year and Beth Greulich was a unanimous selection as Player of the Year.

Voss guided the Vikings to 25-7 overall record and 13-3 in the Horizon that earned the squad the top seed in the tournament that takes place at Woodling Gym this weekend.

Greulich led the league in hitting percentage (.341) while ranking fifth in kills per set (3.37) and seventh in points per set (3.79). The native of Troy, Ohio, is joined on the All League first team with teamates Jordan Goad and Liz Fazio. Kara Koch of CSU was named on the All-Newcomer.

Here is a list of all the award winners.

As part of the Championship City Pilot program, the NCAA has teamed up with the “We Run This City” Youth Marathon Program as well as the John Carroll University Volleyball Team and local Elementary Schools as an effort to get the community involved with the Championships this week. These initiatives will also provide unique opportunities for youth from around the Greater Cleveland area to get involved in sports.

Boys and girls from eight local schools will participate in the “We Run This City” marathon program where finishers will run a one-mile race after the NCAA Cross Country Championships at Highland Hills Golf Course on November 21, 2009. All participants will receive an event t-shirt, a completion certificate and ribbons will be awarded to the winners. During the Championships, race youth participants will be divided into four groups and will rotate around the course and hear speeches by a student-athlete, coach, former Olympian runner and medical staff. The ‘We Run This City” Youth Race will begin at 1:00pm with the awards presentation to immediately follow.

The Akron Zips soccer team were rewarded for their 20-0 season today with the top seed in the NCAA Soccer Tournament. The Zips will play the winner of Steson and South Florida in the 48 team field. The Zips will have home field advantage and the game will be held on Sunday at 4 p.m. at Lee Jackson Field.

"We're very excited; this is what we've worked hard for all year long," said UA head coach Caleb Porter. "Our vision when we started this journey three months ago was to win the national championship. In order to do that, you have to put yourself in the best position possible going into the NCAA Tournament.

"Our players dug deep all year. They learned lessons and got battled-tested but they also got results. And by getting results, you put yourself in the best position possible with the seeding. With the No. 1 seed, we've paved our way the best we possibly could. Now the fun starts."

The Buckeye State and the Big Ten will be represented by Ohio State (4th seed). No other MAC school was awarded a bid into the tourney but the Big Ten will have Indiana, Michigan State, and Penn State all in the hunt for a national title.

The 2009 College Cup will be held at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary, N.C., on December 11th and 13th and will feature the semifinal and championship rounds.

The Cleveland State Vikings hosted Division III school Wilmington College this afternoon in their home opener. The Vikings defeated the Quakers but played sloppy ball committing 20 turnovers. The Vikings were also rebounded 35-25 in the contest. Wilmington only hit 14 of 35 free throws in the loss and one wonders if the final of 99-74 could of been closer with better shooting from the charity stripe.

Wilmington's Tyler Ledford led all scores with 24. D'Aundray Brown and Jared Cunningham both netted 14 in the victory.

After the opening night letdown on Friday night, a Division III school looks like the perfect opponent to get the Cleveland State Vikings back on track this season. Gary Waters' men will host Wilmington College tomorrow at 11:30 am and hope to attract the downtown lunch crowd. The game will be a tune up of sorts for a busy week that will see the Vikings host Florida A&M and Sam Houston State as part of the Cancun Challenge later this week. Things don't get easier from there as the Vikings head south to Mexico to play in the challenge against Kentucky on Tuesday and then either Stanford or Virginia the next day.

Click here for the game notes on the contest against Wilmington tomorrow.

Click here for the stats so far on the young season for the Vikings.

Wilmington (16-10 in 2008-09) at Cleveland State (0-1)
Date: Monday, November 16, 2009
Time: 11:30 a.m. EST
Site: Goodman Arena (8,500), Wolstein Center, Cleveland, Ohio
Radio: WHKW 1220 AM (Cleveland), WHKZ, 1440 AM (Warren) (Al Pawlowski)
Series: First Meeting
Promo: Business Man's Special

#1 Seeded Vikings Have Inside Track at NCAA Tournament Berth

Cleveland State is hosting the 2009 Horizon League volleyball tournament. The winner of the tournament is will be awarded a berth in the NCAA Tournament field of 64. The Vikings have an inside track at the berth with a #1 seed and home field advantage. Here is the entire schedule of action next weekend.

(all matches at Woodling Gymnasium in Cleveland, Ohio)

Friday, Nov. 20 -- quarterfinals
Match 1 -- #3 Milwaukee vs. #6 Green Bay -- 5:00 p.m. ET
Match 2 -- #4 Butler vs. #5 UIC -- 7:30 p.m. ET

Saturday, Nov. 21 -- semifinals
Match 3 -- #1 Cleveland State vs. lowest remaining seed -- 1:00 p.m. ET
Match 4 -- #2 Valparaiso vs. highest remaining seed -- 3:30 p.m. ET

Sunday, Nov. 22 -- championship
Match 5 -- Match 3 winner vs. Game 4 winner -- 1:00 p.m. ET

Click Here for the press release from the HL.

Click Here for the bracket.

Cleveland State head coach Gary Waters has given the disclaimer not to judge his 2009-2010 team early and that is a good thing. The young Vikings took one on the chin tonight in Western New York falling to St. Bonaventure 72-62. The Vikings had only one lead all evening (2-0) and allowed an astounding 17-22 (77.3%) shooting from the floor in the first half in the loss.

Norris Cole lead the Vikings with 13 points in the losing effort. Aaaron Pogue and Jared Cunnigham both scored 11 points and grabbed 9 boards in solid debuts as Vikings. Trevon Harmon, who had a hot hand all preseason went scoreless and heralded sophomore Nigel Ajere was notably absent from the contest leaving the frontcourt of the Vikings thin.

The Bonnies shot 16 more free throws in the contest than the Vikings in the victory and were led by Jonathan Hall's 20 points and 8 boards. Heralded center Andrew Nicholson added 17 points and 7 rebounds.

The Vikings will host Division III sqaud Wilmington at 11:30 a.m. on Monday for the teams home opener.

The Cleveland State basketball program starts its regular season tonight against Saint Bonaventure. Bonaventure loos like it will be an improved team this season after a .500 finish last season. The Bonnies feature Andrew Nicholson who stands 6' 9'' and was the Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Year last season. The Vikings are finding themselves learning on the fly with only two starters back and four players who gave big contributions in a season that won over the city with wins against ranked opponents such as Syracuse, Butler, and Wake Forest, who fell to the underdog Vikings in dramatic fashion in the NCAA Tournament last season.