The Youngstown State volleyball team went toe-to-toe with Michigan on Friday morning in a three-set loss where all three sets were decided by two points. The scores were 23-25, 24-26, 23-25.

Senior Lexi Egler, a native of Clarkston, Michigan, led the Penguins with 14 kills and nine digs while adding three blocks. Freshman Sam Brown added seven kills for Youngstown State, which dropped to 9-4 on the season.

Abby Cole had 15 kills, and Caroline Knop had 14 for Michigan, which is now 4-4. The Wolverines received votes in the AVCA Top 25 Poll last week, and two of their losses came to teams ranked in the top 20. One of Michigan's victories was over No. 19 Duke.

"We had some opportunities to win all three sets but didn't execute well enough on some of the easier plays," YSU head coach Mark Hardaway said. "I'm very happy that our team was not intimidated. We went after them but fell just short. They had a great atmosphere with their "Block Out Bullying" event, and I'm grateful that we got to be a part of it."

The first set was within a point until Michigan went ahead 9-7 following a three-point run. The Wolverines extended their lead to five at 15-10 before Youngstown State battled back into contention. Three straight kills by Jessie Gerig, Shannon Watson and Egler tied the score at 19, but Michigan scored the next three points to go 22-19. Aly Ryan's kill saved one set point for, but Ally Davis' kill gave Michigan the 25-23 win.

Michigan scored the first three points of the second set and led by as many as five at 17-12 to force a YSU timeout. The Penguins worked the margin down to 23-22 after an Egler kill, and a Watson kill saved a set point. Knop's kill put the Wolverines ahead 25-24, and she followed that with an ace to give the home team a two-set lead.

The third set had 17 ties and seven lead changes, and the largest margin for either team in the set was two points. YSU's only two-point lead came at 8-6 on an attack error by Knop, and the Penguins led as late as 19-18. Michigan scored three straight points to go up 21-19, and YSU was able to tie the score at 21 on a Watson kill before the Wolverines prevailed 25-23.

Youngstown State will play Eastern Michigan at 5 p.m. on Friday.