The Youngstown State volleyball team went toe-to-toe on the road with the preseason Horizon League favorites but fell in five sets to Northern Kentucky on Saturday at Regents Hall. The set scores were 21-25, 25-15, 32-30, 23-25, 15-10.
Paula Gursching set two more school records with 35 kills and 87 attempts, which were both the most ever by a Penguin in a match regardless of set format or length. The school record entering the year was 31, and Gursching has tied or surpassed that number three times in her last six matches. The 35 kills also tied for the third-most in the country this season. Meanwhile, the previous school record for attempts in a match was 75 by Heather Luben in 1996.
Josi Borum registered her nation-leading seventh triple-double of the season with 15 kills, 31 assists and 13 digs, Isidora Sisic had a career-best 93 digs, and Isabel Schaefbauer had 31 assists and 15 digs.
Northern Kentucky had five players finish with between nine and 14 kills, and the Norse posted 20 blocks in the match.
NKU improved to 9-11 overall and 7-2 in Horizon League play while Youngstown State dropped to 8-12 and 2-7.
Gursching had seven kills, and the Penguins hit .310 in the opening set to win 25-21. NKU evened the match in the second set with five blocks and five kills in five attempts by Abby Kanakry.
In the third, the Norse were able to save six set points before finally prevailing at 32-30. Youngstown State led 23-20, and it had set points at 24, 25, 26, 27, 28 and 29. NKU's first set point resulted in a serving error to make the score 30-30, but Lucy Cluxton and Skyy Smith followed with consecutive kills. Gursching had 12 kills on 30 attempts in the third set alone.
The Penguins responded by winning the fourth set 25-23 behind eight more kills from their sophomore standout, and YSU led 7-6 in the fifth. NKU's Reilly Briggs tied the match with a kill, and Youngstown State had two challenges go against it during a 7-1 Norse run that make the score 13-8. Gursching's 35th kill of the night made the score 13-9, and YSU's final point came on an NKU serving error.
Youngstown State will conclude its three-match road stretch at Oakland on Tuesday at 6 p.m.
