Volleyball Starts October at Wright State, Valparaiso
10/5/2012 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
The Youngstown State volleyball team will start an important month this weekend with two Horizon League road matches at Wright State and Valparaiso. The Penguins will play Wright State on Friday at 7 p.m., and they'll travel nearly five hours to play Valparaiso on Saturday at 6 p.m. Eastern. Live stats and live video are available on YSUsports.com.
- Oct. 5 at Wright State (7 p.m.) -- Live Stats | Live Video
- Oct. 6 at Valparaiso (6 p.m.) -- Live Stats | Live Video
The Penguins will play seven conference matches this month after going 1-3 in the first two weeks of league play. YSU lost its first two league road matches at Milwaukee and Green Bay two weeks ago, and the Penguins split with UIC and Loyola at Beeghly Center last weekend. YSU beat UIC in a close five-set affair, and it dropped a four-setter to league-leading Loyola on Saturday. Missy Hundelt averaged 3.78 kills per set and posted two double-doubles in the two matches. She had 23 kills on a .423 attack percentage and 15 digs against the Flames, and she followed with 11 kills and 12 digs against the Ramblers. Jenna Cavanaugh averaged 1.89 blocks per set and tied the school record for blocks in a match with 13 against UIC.
Scouting Wright State
Wright State is 0-3 in Horizon League play and 2-18 overall, but the Raiders have been playing better over the last three weeks. Wright State earned its second win against Chicago State on Sept. 18, and the Raiders have won at least one set in each of their three conference matches. They led Valparaiso 2-0 last Friday but dropped the final three sets 25-13, 25-12, 15-13. Junior outside hitter Heidi Splinter leads the team with 3.11 kills per set but is hitting .146. Freshman middle blocker Marisa Aiello averages 2.11 kills and is hitting .211. The Raiders rank last in the conference in team attack percentage at .119, and opponents are hitting .256 against them, which is the highest in the conference. Wright State has won five straight matches against YSU.
Scouting Valparaiso
Valparaiso is 10-8 overall and 2-1 in Horizon League play following its five-set victory over Wright State last weekend. The Crusaders' loss in league play was at UIC on Sept. 21, and they've beaten Wright State and Loyola. Valpo also has three wins over teams with an RPI above 125. The Crusaders are seventh in the Horizon League offensive hitting percentage, but they're second in the conference in opponent hitting percentage. Valpo, like YSU, runs a 6-2 offense. The Crusaders are balanced with four players averaging at least 1.9 kills per set, and Morgan Beil leads the way with 2.35 kills per set. Taylor Root ranks second in the conference with 5.07 digs per set. Valpo has beaten YSU in eight straight meetings.
Last Year vs. Wright State
Wright State won both matches against Youngstown State last season, winning 3-0 in Dayton and 3-1 in Youngstown. The Penguins played without Missy Hundelt in the first match, and they had a team attack percentage of .058 in losing 25-20, 25-18, 25-23. Hundelt had 14 kills and 11 digs against the Raiders in Youngstown, but YSU was without Alexis Egler in the match. Wright State hit .333 over the final three sets to win 18-25, 25-15, 25-23, 25-19.
Last Year vs. Valparaiso
Valparaiso swept Youngstown State in both matches last season. Valpo had nine blocks and 52 digs in a three-set win over YSU at the ARC. YSU hit just .076 in the match, and seven different Crusaders had at least four kills as they won 25-15, 25-19, 25-18. Valpo also had nine blocks in Youngstown to win 25-16, 25-23, 251-19. Missy Hundelt finished with a match-high 13 kills in the loss.
More Competitive in League Play in 2012
Youngstown State won 12 sets in 16 Horizon League matches last year, and it has a chance to surpass that total for 2012 this weekend. The Penguins have won seven sets in four matches and have taken at least one set against each of their first four opponents. Last year, YSU was swept 10 times in 16 matches and won 12 sets in 55 opportunities.
Three with Double-Doubles
Youngstown State had three players finish with a double-double in its win over UIC on Sept. 28. Alexis Egler had 11 kills and 15 digs, Missy Hundelt had 23 kills and 15 digs, and Jenna Cavanaugh posted 11 kills and 13 blocks. The last time YSU had three players finish with a double-double in the same match as Oct. 20, 2007, against Milwaukee. Outside hitters Ebony Barbosa and Jessica Fraley joined setter Karla Everhart in recording double-doubles. The last time YSU had three non-setters record a double-double in the same match was Oct. 8, 2005, at Milwaukee. Chrystal Duncan, Cari Leslie and Katie Shea all had at least 10 kills and 10 digs in that match against the Panthers.
Next Week
Youngstown State will start a season-long three-match home stand against Cleveland State next Friday at 7 p.m.
