Youngstown State University
1-0
Evansville
0-1
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | Final F |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Evansville | 20 | 20 | 17 | 0 |
| Youngstown State | 25 | 25 | 25 | 3 |
Volleyball Starts 2014 with Sweep of Evansville
8/29/2014 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Nashville, Tennessee – The Youngstown State volleyball team hit .271 collectively and backed that up with solid defense to sweep Evansville (25-20, 25-20, 25-17) at the Belmont Invitational on Friday. It was the season opener for both schools.
Junior Aly Ryan posted 11 kills on a match-high .529 attack percentage, and Lexi Egler added 10 kills for the Penguins. Youngstown State earned a sweep in its first match for the first time in a decade.
"I'm proud of our team for getting the 3-0 win," YSU head coach Mark Hardaway said. "Evansville was bigger and more physical than us and did a great job blocking. They had a few players that hit high and hard. We did a god job serving to keep them out of system, and our defense was very solid. We passed well, which allowed Val (Jeffery) to mix up the offense and keep Evansville off balance. We have a lot of things we need to improve on, but, overall, I'm pleased with our first outing."
Jeffery had 30 assists and 10 digs while adding four kills in her first match as a Penguin, and Nikki Thompson registered a match-best 18 digs in her first match as the starting libero. The pair helped YSU record 50 digs as a unit.
Youngstown State scored six straight points early in the first set behind Thompson's serve to go up 6-1, and the Penguins led the rest of the set. Evansville got within two three times, including 14-12, but three straight Purple Aces errors hurt any rally chances. YSU led by as many as seven when Ryan and Egler combined for a block to make the score 23-16.
YSU found itself trailing 5-1 to start the second set, but it scored six of the next seven points to go ahead 7-6. Evansville reclaimed the lead at 13-12 and held a 16-13 advantage after a block by Meaghan Holmes and Stephanie Cerino. YSU scored the next three points to tie the score at 16-16, and the score was within one until a block by Jeffery and Shannon Watson gave YSU a 21-19 lead. The Penguins ended the set on a 6-1 run, and Jeffery and Watson contributed on five of those points.
Evansville opened up an 11-8 lead midway through the third set before the Penguins scored eight straight points to take control. Following a Purple Aces serving error, the Penguins had five straight kills and back-to-back aces by Thompson. Evansville got no closer than three the rest of the match.
Evansville's Ashley Ring led all players with 12 kills, and the Purple Aces held a 10-4 edge in blocks. YSU had 10 more kills and 15 more digs than its opponent.
The Penguins will play two matches on Saturday at the Belmont Invitational. They'll play the host Bruins at 10:30 a.m. Eastern, and they'll end the weekend against Kennesaw State at 4:30 p.m. Kennesaw State beat Belmont in four sets later Friday.
