Youngstown State University
15-9, 6-3HL
Oakland
15-9, 7-2HL
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | Final F |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Youngstown State | 25 | 27 | 20 | 14 | 16 | 2 |
| Oakland | 19 | 25 | 25 | 25 | 18 | 3 |
Oakland Rallies to Beat Youngstown State in Five Sets
10/25/2014 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Oakland rallied from two sets down and fought off two match points to defeat the Youngstown State volleyball team in five sets on Saturday afternoon at the Athletics Center O'Rena. The set scores were 19-25, 25-27, 25-20, 25-14, 18-16.
The loss snaps YSU's five-match winning streak and drops the Penguins to a game back of Oakland and Milwaukee in the Horizon League standings. Youngstown State is now 15-9 overall and 6-3 in conference play while Oakland is 15-9, 7-2.
Freshman Sam Brown led the Penguins with 16 kills and 18 digs, and Aly Ryan finished with 12 kills and nine blocks. Oakland was led by Cassie Pelloni's match-high 22 kills.
"This is a very disappointing loss for us," YSU head coach Mark Hardaway said. "Oakland played a great match, and we had our opportunities to win set five but just couldn't take advantage of them. Now we have to move on and get ready for UIC on Friday."
After Oakland rallied to tie the match at two sets apiece with a 25-14 win in the fourth set, Youngstown State jumped out to a 6-2 lead in the fifth. YSU had two attack errors and a service error during a four-point Golden Grizzlies run that tied the score at 6-6, but a three-point run for YSU later in the set put the Penguins up 13-12. YSU had match points at 14-13 and 15-14, but Oakland was able to stay alive with a Melissa Deatsch kill and an attack error. A service error allowed YSU to save a match point at 16-15, but a Pelloni kill and a Ciara Schultz ace ended the match.
Youngstown State returns home to host a pair of teams with 5-4 conference records next weekend. YSU will play UIC at 7 p.m. on Friday and Valparaiso at 5 p.m. on Saturday.
