Volleyball Continues Spring Schedule at Ohio State This Weekend

Youngstown -- The Youngstown State volleyball team has reached the halfway point of its spring schedule and will play arguably its toughest tournament of the slate this weekend at Ohio State.

The Penguins, who are playing split-squad matches, will play Ohio State, Northern Kentucky, Kent State, Cleveland State, Wright State and Wheeling Jesuit this weekend in Columbus. They will then wrap up their spring schedule with a home tournament on April 21 against Akron and Kent State.

In its first two tournaments, YSU has won 13 of the 17 sets it has played.

"I've been pleased with the progress we've made from the start of spring practice up to this point," first-year head coach Mark Hardaway said. "The team is working hard, and I can see the improvement. That said, we still have a lot of work to do if we want to be good next fall."

Through 17 sets, Missy Hundelt is leading the Penguins with 3.20 kills per set. Alexis Egler ranks second with 2.85 per set, and Jackie Carlisle, Nichele Johnson and Shannon Watson are all averaging 2.80 per set.

Johnson has been strong at the net with 1.70 blocks per set and 4.55 points per set, both of which are team highs. Fellow middle hitter Jenna Cavanaugh is averaging 1.10 blocks and hitting a team-best .309.

Erika West has posted a team-best 4.40 digs per set, followed by 3.80 from Chelsea Guerrieri and 3.35 from Egler. Guerrieri is averaging a team-high 0.80 aces per set. Setter Brianna Bartlett has averaged 9.60 assists, and Casey D'Ambrose has averaged 8.00 assists.

On the three-point passing scale where a "three" is regarded as a perfect pass, Egler, Hundelt and West are averaging between 2.08 and 2.06.