Volleyball Hosts Final Two Matches During Homecoming Weekend
10/31/2012 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
The Youngstown State volleyball team has a chance to put an exclamation point on its best season in more than a decade when it hosts Valparaiso and Wright State this weekend. YSU and Valpo will play Friday night, and the Penguins will play Wright State on Saturday as part of Homecoming Week on campus. Both matches will start at 7 p.m. and have live video coverage on YSUsports.com.
The Penguins are fighting to earn a spot in the Horizon League Tournament for the first time since 2008, and two wins this weekend would significantly improve their chances. At 14-11 overall and 4-7 in conference matches, the Penguins currently occupy sixth place in the standings. The top six teams at the end of the regular season qualify for the league tournament, which will be Nov. 16-18.
YSU earned a split in Chicago this past weekend, picking up a big win at Loyola on Friday and losing at UIC on Saturday. The Penguins posted a .250 attack percentage as a team and got 15 kills from Missy Hundelt in the five-set win over the Ramblers, who entered last week in sole possession of second place in the league standings. YSU was then swept at UIC as the Flames evened the season series at 1-1. The Penguins' four conference wins have come against four different teams.
Hundelt continues to have an all-league caliber season, averaging 3.33 kills and 2.79 digs while posting a .245 attack percentage.
YSU will conclude the regular season at Cleveland State on Thursday, Nov. 8.
Recapping Loyola
- Youngstown State posted a team attack percentage of .250 and got 15 kills from Missy Hundelt in a five-set victory (25-18, 20-25, 25-18, 24-26, 15-12) at Loyola on Oct. 26.
- In addition to Hundelt's 15 kills, Shannon Watson added 12 kills on a .409 attack percentage, and Alexis Egler's 11 kills and 10 digs represented the match's only double-double.
- Jenna Cavanaugh added six kills and six blocks, and Nichele Johnson and Kelsey Wagy came off the bench to combine for 11 kills and five blocks.
- Loyola's Anna Eytchison led all players with 26 kills, and Ramblers libero Stephanie Kinane posted a match-high 18 digs.
- YSU closed out the first set on an 8-2 run to win 25-18, and it went on a 9-3 run to build an insurmountable 23-16 lead in the third. The Penguins then outscored Loyola 4-1 to close out the fifth set.
Recapping UIC
- Youngstown State couldn't keep up with a hot-hitting UIC squad on Oct. 27 in a three-set loss (25-16, 27-25, 25-15).
- Missy Hundelt finished with 11 kills to lead YSU, but UIC had three players finish in double figures in kills. Kelsey Safranek posted a match-best 14 kills, and Janise Dismuke added 12 on a .611 attack percentage. The Flames hit .296 for the match, including .387 in the opening set.
- The Flames had 10 more kills (48-38) than YSU and 19 more digs (56-37). The Penguins held a 7-2 edge in blocks, but they also had eight more serving errors.
- An 8-2 run helped UIC push its leads to 19-12 in the first set. The Flames then scored the first seven points of the second set and fought off a YSU rally to win 27-25. UIC scored 12 straight points to go up 12-1 in the third.
Last Time vs. Valparaiso
- Valparaiso fought off five set points in the second set and proceeded to hit .419 in both the third and fourth sets to defeat YSU 3-1 (22-25, 33-31, 25-17, 25-14) on Oct. 6 in Valpo.
- YSU had a chance to take a 2-0 lead in the match before coming up short in the second-set marathon.
- Alexis Egler led the Penguins with 16 kills and hit .286, and Missy Hundelt finished with 13 kills and 14 digs. Jenna Cavanaugh added seven blocks for YSU, and Erika West posted 16 digs.
- Ellen Vanden Berg had a match-high 19 kills with seven blocks, and Taylor Root registered 25 digs for the Crusaders.
- Valpo had a seven-point run in the third set and an eight-point spurt in the fourth.
Last Time vs. Wright State
- Youngstown State fought off two set points to win the first set and went on to sweep Wright State (26-24, 25-19, 25-22) on Oct. 5.
- Shannon Watson finished with a match-high 12 kills and added four blocks, Jenna Cavanaugh registered seven blocks, and Erika West posted 17 digs.
- YSU trailed 24-22 in the opening set before scoring four straight points, and the Penguins did not trail again. They jumped out to a 5-1 lead in the second set and a 7-1 advantage in the third.
Scouting Valparaiso
Valparaiso enters the week with an overall record of 16-10 and a 7-3 mark in Horizon League matches. The Crusaders are currently in second place in the conference standings and are the only team who can catch Cleveland State for the number one seed in the league tournament. Valpo has won five of its last six conference contests, and two of its three losses came in five sets. Since league play began, the Crusaders have led the circuit in blocks and digs per set. Four Valpo players average at least 2.0 kills per set, and Taylor Root is second in the conference with 5.68 digs per set (6.52 in league play). Valparaiso plays at Chicago State on Tuesday evening.
Scouting Wright State
Wright State is 2-25 overall and 0-10 in Horizon League play entering this week. The Raiders have been competitive in spots, taking Valparaiso and Loyola to five sets in close losses. Wright State ranks last in the conference in hitting percentage and opponent hitting percentage as well as kills and blocks. Junior Heidi Splinter is having a solid year, averaging 3.40 kills overall and 3.81 kills during conference play. However, Marisa Aiello is the only other Raider averaging more than 1.6 kills per set. Wright State will play Eastern Kentucky on Wednesday and Cleveland State on Friday before coming to YSU.
Hundelt Having All-League Type Season
Youngstown State junior Missy Hundelt is having a season worthy of a spot on the All-Horizon League Team. The right-side hitter ranks fifth in the conference with 3.33 kills per set, and she is also averaging 2.79 digs and 0.56 blocks. She is the only player in the Horizon League with at least 300 kills, 250 blocks and 50 digs, and Hundelt's .245 attack percentage is second among players in the conference with at least 750 attempts. Additionally, she has been the on-court leader for YSU as it has won nine more matches than it did in 2011.
Cavanaugh's Improvement
Perhaps the most glaring improvement from YSU's offense a year ago to 2012 is the productivity it's getting from the middle blockers, and Jenna Cavanaugh is the leader of that group. Cavanaugh is averaging 1.76 kills, and her 1.22 blocks per set lead the Horizon League. She's gotten her kills on a .285 attack percentage. All of those stats are career highs by far. Her previous career highs were 1.06 kills per set, 0.98 blocks per set and a .151 attack percentage.
Looking at YSU's Improvement
Youngstown State is 14-11 this season after going a combined 7-51 over the previous two seasons. YSU is tied for the third-best win improvement in the country with nine more victories in 2012 than 2011 (5). Loyola has an 11-win improvement, and Akron is second with 10 more wins.
- Dating back to the final five matches of last season, YSU has won 17 of its last 30 matches. Over their previous 30 matches, the Penguins were 2-28. They had just 17 wins in their previous 103 matches.
- YSU's 14 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.
Hundelt Climbing Career Lists
Missy Hundelt surpassed 800 career kills on 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 870 2010-12
Hundelt's 3.11 kills per set over her career is the fifth-best rate in school history. She also ranks 14th in school history with 2,566 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 1,622 assists in her career, 659 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 3.23 digs per set is also fourth. Cavanaugh's 1.22 blocks per set this season is the eighth-best average in school history and the best since 2003.
Hardaway Hoping to Provide Stability
First-year head coach Mark Hardaway has already led YSU to an eight-win improvement, and he's hoping that he can have a long stretch of success at YSU. Hardaway is YSU's third head coach in the last four seasons. Joe Bonner was the Penguins' head coach in 2009, and Krista Burrows was at the helm the past two seasons. With 14 wins already, Hardaway has set a school record for most victories by a first-year head coach.
Improvement in Efficiency
Although Youngstown State has improved in nearly every statistic from 2011 to 2012, the most glaring is attack percentage. The Penguins are hitting .217 as a team in 2012, which is a monstrous step up from .152 in 2011. In fact, YSU hit above .217 just five times in 29 matches last season and twice in 29 matches in 2010.
Next Week
Youngstown State will wrap up the regular season at league-leading Cleveland State on Thursday, Nov. 8, at 7 p.m.
