Penguins Host Valparaiso, Butler in Key Weekend Matches
10/30/2008 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Youngstown -- The Youngstown
State volleyball team will play host to Valparaiso and Butler this
weekend in a key stretch for the Penguins as the regular season
winds down.
First serve against the Crusaders on
Halloween is set for 7 p.m. The match will have a holiday theme,
and prizes will be awarded for students in attendance with the best
costumes.
The Crusaders and Bulldogs are currently
tied for second in the Horizon League standings with identical 7-4
records. YSU is 3-8 with three of its final five matches played at
Beeghly Center.
The Penguins enter the weekend having
lost its last two matches in straight sets. They are 2-3 at home
this season with victories over Green Bay and Loyola.
Valparaiso has won nine of its last 10
matches and five straight. Its only loss in October was a 3-2
setback against UIC on Oct. 11. Valpo beat YSU 3-0 on Oct. 4 in a
match where neither team hit .200. The Crusaders worked around 13
Penguins blocks to win 25-23, 25-21 and 25-20.
The Penguins lost in five sets to Butler
on Oct. 3 despite have a 2-1 lead. YSU hit .110 to Butler's .224,
but the Penguins blocked 12 attacks and benefitted from 11 Bulldog
service errors. YSU has not beaten Butler in 16 previous
meetings.
Boscaljon, Kapferer Bright Spots in Loss to Wright State
Ruth Boscaljon and Haley
Kapferer both had solid evenings against Wright State. The two
combined for 15 of YSU's 28 kills and hit a combined .556. As
a team, the Penguins hit .113, which was their third-lowest
percentage of the season. Boscaljon and Kapferer currently rank
first and second in the Horizon League in attack percentage (.328
and .290). Boscaljon also leads the circuit in blocks per set
(1.17) while Kapferer ranks ninth (0.91).
Barbosa Nearing 1,000 Digs
Ebony Barbosa tallied at least
10 digs for the fifth time in the last six matches last Friday
against Wright State. She was the only player for YSU to finish
with more than five. Barbosa's 219 digs this season rank
second on the team behind Karla Everhart's 221. Barbosa
currently has 983 digs in her career, and she will become the 11th
player in school history to reach 1,000 if she can collect 17 this
weekend.
Fewer Blocks a Rarity
YSU has finished with fewer blocks than
its opponent in only four matches this season, and two of those
have been against Wright State. Wright State had eight blocks
compared to YSU's seven on Friday, and it also had one more
(7-6) when the teams played on Sept. 27. The only other two teams
to have more blocks than YSU in a match are UIC (5-3 on Sept. 29)
and Xavier (7-5 on Aug. 29).
