Volleyball Travels to Chicago for Two Matches this Weekend
10/25/2012 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
The Youngstown State volleyball team embarks on its final two-match road trip of the season this weekend when it travels to Chicago to play Loyola and UIC. The Penguins will play Loyola on Friday at 8 p.m. Eastern and UIC on Saturday at 5 p.m. Eastern. Live stats and live video will be available through YSUsports.com.
- Friday at Loyola at 8 p.m. Eastern - Live Video | Live Stats
- Saturday at UIC at 5 p.m. Eastern - Live Video | Live Stats
The Penguins earned a split last weekend at Beeghly Center, losing to Green Bay in five sets and beating Milwaukee in four. YSU, Green Bay and Milwaukee are all tied for fifth place in the Horizon League standings with a 3-6 record, so every match is critical if the Penguins want to finish in the top six and qualify for the Horizon League Tournament. Milwaukee plays at Green Bay on Friday evening.
YSU rallied from being down 2-1 sets and 12-8 in the fifth set to beat UIC in Youngstown on Sept. 28. The Penguins then fell to Loyola a day later in four sets. Loyola is in second place in the Horizon League standings at 7-2, and the Ramblers would control the top spot with two wins this weekend. UIC is 6-3 in conference play and is tied for third.
Junior right-side hitter Missy Hundelt added another strong statement on her resume to earn All-Horizon League honors by being named the conference's offensive player of the week on Monday. Hundelt posted two double-doubles and registered more than 20 points in both of the Penguins' matches last weekend. Hundelt enters the weekend as the only Horizon League player with at least 200 kills, 200 digs and 50 blocks.
Jenna Cavanaugh continues to lead the Horizon League with 1.23 blocks per set, and she also ranks seventh in attack percentage at .285. Nikki Thompson is fourth in the conference in aces per set, and Casey D'Ambrose is seventh in assists per set. Erika West ranks ninth in digs per set.
• YSU has won eight more matches than it did in 2011. That is tied for the second-best improvement in the country.
• Mark Hardaway has set a new school record for wins by a first-year head coach.
• With 13 victories, YSU has already surpassed its win total from the previous two seasons combined (seven) and has its highest win total since 2000.
Recapping Green Bay
- In a match that featured 44 ties and 22 lead changes, the fifth set fittingly went to 21-19 before Green Bay held on to beat the Penguins on Oct. 19. YSU was down 2-0 before rallying to force a fifth set. Green Bay won 25-22, 25-22, 23-25, 16-25, 21-19.
- YSU had three match points in the fifth set at 14-13, 15-14 and 17-16. Green Bay also had three match points before closing the set.
- Missy Hundelt finished with 19 kills, 20 digs and five blocks. For the second time this season, she was one kill away from being the first player since 2007 to post a 20-20 match.
- Erin Muir posted a career-high 36 assists and led the Penguins in the category for the first time in her career.
- Erika West registered 25 digs to outduel Green Bay libero Brittany Groth, who had 22. Groth entered the match ranking second in the nation with 6.19 digs per set.
- YSU also lost at Green Bay in five sets. The Phoenix will win any tiebreaker in the standings with the Penguins as a result of their two wins in the season series.
Recapping Milwaukee
- YSU rebounded from the disappointing loss to Green Bay to beat Milwaukee in four sets – 25-22, 20-25, 25-21, 25-23 – on Oct. 20. It was the Penguins' first win over the Panthers at Beeghly Center since 1993.
- Missy Hundelt tied for match-high honors with 17 kills, and she was one of four players to finish with at least 10 kills. Alexis Egler had 12, Jenna Cavanaugh had 11, and Jackie Carlisle posted 10. Hundelt and Cavanaugh both had an attack percentage over .430, and YSU hit .273 as a unit.
- The match was another tight one with 33 ties and 17 lead changes. The fourth set had 16 ties and nine lead changes.
- The third set was the turning point of the match. Milwaukee led 17-12, but YSU scored 13 of the final 17 points of the set. The Penguins scored the final seven points.
Last Time vs. Loyola
- Loyola got 22 kills from Anna Eytchison and hit .279 collectively to defeat Youngstown State in four sets (25-16, 25-23, 16-25, 25-19) on Sept. 29 at Beeghly Center.
- Missy Hundelt and Shannon Watson both had 11 kills for YSU, and Hundelt added 12 digs. The Penguins hit .303 in the second set and .417 in the third, but they hit just .138 in the first and negative-.024 in the fourth.
Last Time vs. UIC
- YSU scored the final seven points of the fifth set to complete a comeback victory over UIC (25-23, 23-25, 23-25, 25-21, 15-12) on Sept. 28 at Beeghly Center.
- The Penguins got double-doubles from three players and battled through 33 ties and 11 lead changes in the match. It was the first time three YSU non-setters had a double-double in the same match since 2005.
- Missy Hundelt led all players with 23 kills on a .423 hitting percentage, and she added 15 digs. Jenna Cavanaugh tied a school record with 13 blocks while added 11 kills, and Alexis Egler added 11 kills and 15 digs. Hundelt had nine kills in the second set.
Scouting Loyola
Loyola is 15-7 overall and 7-2 in the Horizon League and has won 11 more matches than it did in 2011. That is the best improvement of any Division I program. The Ramblers won a pair of five-set road matches last weekend to remain in second place in the conference standings. If they win out, they will be the top seed in the Horizon League Tournament. A trio of newcomers have led Loyola's improvement – senior transfer Anna Eytchison and freshmen Kathleen Vogel and Stephanie Kinane. Eytchison ranks second in the Horizon League in kills per set, Vogel is first in aces per set, and Kinane is third in digs per set.
Scouting UIC
UIC is 14-11 overall and 6-3 in Horizon League play after splitting two matches last weekend. The Flames swept Wright State and lost in five sets to Valparaiso, who they are tied with in the standings. Middle blocker Janise Dismuke ranks second in the conference with a .335 attack percentage and is fifth in blocks. Kelsey Safranek is sixth in the league in kills per set, and MaryKate Imrie is second in assists. UIC's 13.63 kills per set ranks second in the conference. The Flames will play Cleveland State on Friday prior to their match against YSU.
Hundelt Surpasses 800 Career Kills
Youngstown State junior Missy Hundelt surpassed 800 career kills in her last match, which was Oct. 6 at Valparaiso. She is the 15th player to reach 800 career kills, and 10 previous players have gone on to reach 1,000. Below are the four YSU players directly above Hundelt in career kills.
11. Ebony Barbosa 985 2005-08
12. Cindy Neubauer 896 1992-95
13. Cari Leslie 887 2003-06
14. Amber Nagy 886 1997-00
15. Missy Hundelt 844 2010-Present
Hundelt's 3.10 kills per set over her career is the fifth-best rate in school history. She also ranks 14th in school history with 2,490 attempts.
D'Ambrose Reaches 1,500 Career Assists
YSU junior setter Casey D'Ambrose became the seventh player in school history to surpass 1,500 career assists against Valparaiso on Oct. 6. She currently has 1,580 assists in her career, 617 of which she's posted this season. D'Ambrose played primarily as a defensive specialist as a freshman, and she registered 913 assists last year. This season she is part of YSU's 6-2 offense, sharing setting duties with Erin Muir. D'Ambrose is the only Penguin this season to appear in every set.
Cavanaugh, West in Top 5
Juniors Jenna Cavanaugh and Erika West currently rank among the top five players in YSU history in career blocks per set and career digs per set, respectively. Cavanaugh's 1.02 blocks per set over her career is the fourth-best in school history. West's 3.21 digs per set is also fourth. Cavanaugh's 1.23 blocks per set this season is the sixth-best average in school history and the best since 2003.
Egler's Been Better in League Matches
Sophomore outside hitter Alexis Egler has significantly upgraded her play since the start of Horizon League play. In nine conference matches, Egler is averaging 2.57 kills and 2.68 digs per set against league foes. Heading into league play, Egler was averaging 1.90 kills and 2.16 digs.
Egler needs eight more kills to reach 200 kills and 200 digs for the second consecutive season. Only six Horizon League players have reached those plateaus entering this weekend.
Looking at YSU's Improvement
Youngstown State is 13-10 this season after going a combined 7-51 over the previous two seasons. YSU is tied for the second-best win improvement in the country with eight more victories in 2012 than 2011 (5).
Team / 2012 Record / 2011 Record (+Wins)
1. Loyola / 15-7 / 4-22 (+11)
2. YSU / 13-10 / 5-24 (+8)
2. Southern Illinois / 17-5 / 9-18 (+8)
2. Akron / 12-10 / 4-25 (+8)
5. Four teams (+7)
• YSU's 13 wins are its most since going 14-15 in 2000. That was the Penguins' final season in the Mid-Continent Conference.
• YSU had at least 10 wins in its first 14 matches for the fourth time in school history. Its best start through 14 matches came in 1995 at 11-3.
• Youngstown State posted 10 wins against non-conference opponents for the first time since 1999.
• YSU won eight consecutive matches for the first time since posting 20 straight wins in 1999. The eight-match winning streak tied for the third-longest in school history.
• The Penguins swept four straight opponents (Aug. 31 to Sept. 4) for the first time since 2001.
More Competitive in League Play in 2012
Youngstown State won 12 sets in 16 Horizon League matches last year, and it has already won 16 in its first nine conference contests in 2012. The Penguins are 3-6 in league matches and have matched their conference win total from the previous two seasons combined. YSU won at least one set in each of its first six conference matches before being swept against Cleveland State on Oct. 12 YSU was swept 10 times in 16 matches last year.
Next Week
Youngstown State will play Valparaiso on Friday and Wright State on Saturday in its final two home matches of the regular season. Both matches will start at 7 p.m.
