Youngstown State sophomore outside hitter Paula Gursching became the fastest player to reach 1,000 career kills, and the Penguins clinched a spot in the Horizon League Volleyball Championship on Friday evening.
YSU dropped its match 3-0 to Northern Kentucky at Beeghly Center on Friday, but the Penguins qualified for the tournament with Oakland's loss at Purdue Fort Wayne. Youngstown State is now 14-14 overall and 8-9 in conference play, and it is locked into a top-six finish in the regular-season standings.
YSU has one more match remaining on Saturday and could finish as high as fourth. The Penguins will play in the conference tournament for the first time since 2014, and their quarterfinals match will be next Friday at Wright State against an opponent that will be determined Saturday.
While YSU found its way into the tournament, Northern Kentucky clinched a first-round bye with its 3-0 victory on Friday. The Norse improved to 16-12 overall and 14-3 in league play, and they will be the second seed in next week's tournament.
Gursching led all players with 14 kills on 38 attempts, and Josi Borum was a dig away from a triple-double with 10 kills, 15 assists and nine digs. Borum hit .563 individually and Gursching hit .184, but every other Penguin had at least as many errors as kills.
NKU was led offensively by Reilly Briggs' 13 kills and .522 attack percentage, and the Norse had 10 aces. Even when serves didn't result in aces, NKU was able to keep the Penguins out of system and held them to a .135 attack percentage.
There were 19 ties and 12 lead changes in the match, and YSU trailed just 21-20 in the opening set. A lengthy delay over a substitution dispute followed a Northern Kentucky timeout, and NKU controlled much of the match once it resumed. The Norse won the opening set 25-21, and they built a 12-5 lead in the second set on their way to a 25-12 win. Borum tied the third set at 13-13 with a kill, but NKU scored the next five points and led by at least four the rest of the way.
The Penguins will conclude the regular season on Saturday by hosting Wright State at 4 p.m. YSU's five seniors will be recognized after the match in what will be their final contest at Beeghly Center.
