Indianapolis, Ind. – For the second straight day, the Youngstown State volleyball team outlasted a Horizon League opponent for a key road win as the Penguins topped IUPUI in five sets on Saturday afternoon at The Jungle. The set scores were 33-35, 25-23, 18-25, 25-20, 15-9.
The Penguins have now been victorious in three consecutive matches as they make a push to earn a spot in the Horizon League Championship. Youngstown State is 12-13 overall and 6-8 in conference play, a record that currently has the Penguins in sixth place and in the final spot to qualify for the tournament. IUPUI is 9-16 overall and 3-10 in league play.
Josi Borum became the first player in program history to record at least 20 kills and 20 assists in a match as she finished with 20 kills and 26 assists. She hit at a team-best .429 clip, and Youngstown State hit an impressive .294 as a team. Paula Gursching tied the program's single-season record for kills by reaching 513, and she posted her fourth match with at least 30 kills in the last month with 32. Gursching added 17 digs for a double-double, and Abbie Householder also had a double-double with 13 kills and 10 digs. Isabel Schaefbauer recorded 36 assists, Julia Sell had six blocks, and Isidora Sisic registered 19 digs.
Briana Brown had 23 kills to lead IUPUI, which was also efficient offensively with a .289 attack percentage.
Gursching had 13 kills in the opening set, which went through 11 ties and three lead changes before IUPUI finally prevailed 35-33. Youngstown State held a 23-18 lead in the set on a Caitlyn Jones ace before IUPUI rallied to force the string of extended play.
With IUPUI holding the momentum from the grueling first set, Youngstown State battled through 11 more ties in the second set to win 25-23 and tie the match. Householder had five kills in the set, including on two of YSU"s final three points.
The Jaguars had five of the 13 aces they recorded in the match in the third set, and the Penguins hit just .038 as IUPUI won 25-18. Youngstown State regrouped and flipped the serving prowess in the fourth set as the Penguins had five aces and allowed just one to the Jaguars. That, and a combined 12 kills in 18 attempts from Borum and Gursching, allowed YSU to force a fifth set.
In the fifth, Youngstown State had nine kills in 17 swings, and its final deficit was 2-1. Gursching had a kill and back-to-back aces to give YSU a 4-2 cushion, and the Penguins held the upper hand for the rest of the match. IUPUI got as close as one four times, the final time coming at 9-8, before the Penguins scored six of the final seven points. Gursching had kills on three of those points, and the Jaguars had three attack errors on Jones' serve.
Youngstown State will have another big road battle on Tuesday as it travels to Cleveland State. The match against the Vikings at Woodling Gymnasium will start at 6 p.m.
