The Youngstown State volleyball team came up short in a gutty performance on Saturday afternoon in a five-set loss to Oakland. The Penguins lost their Horizon League opener 25-17, 23-25, 25-10, 21-25, 15-10.

Sarah Varcolla led YSU with 11 kills, Lori Vanbeek posted 10 and Erin Kalahar registered a career-best nine. Sam Brown had five aces and a team-best 14 digs.

Oakland was led by Sammy Condon's 16 kills, and Melissa Deatsch had 14 kills, nine digs and five aces.

A high amount of points were decided at the service line. Oakland, which came into the match ranking in the top 10 in the country in aces, had 11 aces to go along with 11 serving errors. The Penguins notched eight aces, and they had 11 errors.

Oakland went up 1-0 in the match by pulling away late in what was a close first set. The Penguins trailed just 15-14 after a Deatsch serving error, but Oakland scored seven of the next eight points to go up 22-15.

Brown had four of her aces in the second set as the Penguins rallied to tie the match. YSU led 5-3 before Oakland surged ahead to take a 10-7 advantage. YSU tied the score at 11, and the Penguins scored six straight points behind Brown's serve later to go up 17-12. Brown had three aces in a four-point stretch to close out the run.  Oakland caught the Penguins at 19-19 and eventually took a 23-21 lead before a late rally. Kalahar's kill gave YSU a side out, and a Varcolla block tied the score at 23. Krysteena Davis' attack error gave YSU a set point, and Rachelle Calvin's ace allowed the Penguins to tie the match.

Oakland came out of the locker room and scored nine of the first 11 points of the third set, and it distanced the Penguins when YSU setter Val Jeffery had to come out with an injury. With backup setter Heather Splinter also out, that forced Brown to run the offense for the rest of the set. Jeffery was able to fight through the next two sets, but she came out when it was her turn to play in the front row.

The Golden Grizzlies had their lowest attack percentage of the match in the fourth set, and YSU used a 6-1 run late in the match to go up 24-19. Three of Condon's four errors the entire afternoon came in that stretch.

There were nine ties and three lead changes in the fifth set, and YSU held a 10-9 lead after a Varcolla ace. After an Oakland timeout, the Golden Grizzlies scored the final six points of the match to close out the win. Varcolla served long after the timeout, and Deatsch followed with back-to-back kills to start the run.

Youngstown State will play host to Cleveland State on Sunday at 4 p.m.