Youngstown State University
3-0
Belmont
2-1
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | Final F |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Youngstown State | 25 | 25 | 25 | 3 |
| Kennesaw State | 18 | 23 | 13 | 0 |
Strong Defense Carries Penguins to 3-0 Win at Belmont
8/30/2014 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Nashville, Tennessee - The Youngstown State volleyball used another strong defensive effort to earn its second straight sweep to open the 2014 season, topping Belmont 25-19, 25-18, 25-18, on Saturday morning.
The Penguins registered 61 digs and seven blocks while holding the Bruins to 23 kills in the three-set win. Youngstown State, which swept Evansville on Friday, has opened a season with back-to-back 3-0 wins for the first time since 1999.
Lexi Egler had 10 kills, 10 digs and four blocks, and Sam Brown posted nine kills and 12 digs. Nikki Thompson had 13 digs, and Val Jeffery registered 33 assists.
Belmont, which had 19 wins in 2013, was held to a .027 attack percentage.
The Penguins were sluggish at the start and trailed Belmont 10-5 despite the Bruins having just one kill. YSU scored the next four points to get within 10-9, and it trailed 16-12 after a Bruins block. The Penguins scored the next four points to tie the score at 16 when a big dig by Jessie Gerig led to a Brown kill, and YSU took its first lead since 1-0 at 18-17. That point came on Egler's first kill of the match, and the senior outside hitter had kills on three out of four points. YSU ended the set on a 15-5 run to win 25-19.
Egler had kills for tree of YSU's first four points in the second set, and the Penguins jumped out to an 11-6 lead following a six-point run. Belmont got no closer than two the rest of the set, and the Penguins scored the final five points behind Gerig's serve.
Youngstown State led 5-1 early in the third set, and it held the upper hand until the Bruins scored four straight points to go up 16-15. The Penguins answered with six straight points on behind Egler's serve, and they ended the set on 10-2 run.
Youngstown State will try to go undefeated at the Belmont Invitational when it plays Kennesaw State at 4:30 p.m. Eastern.
