Volleyball Travels to Akron, Hosts Kent State to Conclude Non-League Slate

Youngstown State at Akron \| vs. Kent State
Match 1	Thursday, Sept. 15 \| 6 p.m.
Opponent & Coverage	at Akron - Watch on ESPN+ \| Live Stats
Match 2	Friday, Sept. 16 \| 6 p.m.
Opponent & Coverage	vs. Kent State - Watch on ESPN+ \| Live Stats
Live Tweets	@YSUVolleyball
Hash Tags	#GoGuins \| #HLVB
Mobile App	iOS Download \| Android Download

The Youngstown State volleyball team will play its final two non-conference games of the season this week as it takes on its nearest Division I rivals. The Penguins will play at Akron on Thursday at 6 p.m., and YSU will host Kent State on Friday at 6 p.m. Both matches will be streamed on ESPN+.

YSU's two contests are part of a Northeast Ohio showdown between the Mid-American Conference and Horizon League during the final week of non-conference play. Cleveland State, which YSU will open Horizon League play with on Tuesday, will play at Kent State on Thursday and host Akron on Friday.

Fan Information

Gameday Guide

There will be free admission to Friday night's match against Kent State.
Fans in attendance at Friday's match will receive a stadium cup.
Concessions will be available, and for the first time, beer will be available for purchase.

Recapping Last Week

Match Results

at Buffalo on Friday, Sept. 9: L, 1-3 | 18-25, 25-18, 25-22, 25-20 | Recap | Box Score
at Canisius on Friday, Sept. 9: W, 3-0 | 26-24, 25-14, 25-16 | Recap | Box Score
vs. Bucknell on Saturday, Sept. 10: W, 3-2 | 25-18, 9-25, 19-25, 25-19, 15-9 | Recap | Box Score

Youngstown State went 2-1 and finished second at the 2022 Western New York Invitational last weekend in Buffalo. The Penguins began the event with a four-set loss at the University at Buffalo on Friday morning, and they bounced back by winning at Canisius in three sets on Friday afternoon. YSU then outlasted Bucknell in five sets on Saturday in another match played at Canisius' Koessler Athletic Center.
Friday's first match was played at Buffalo's Alumni Arena at 11 a.m., and YSU made drove approximately 20 minutes to play at Canisius' Koessler Athletic Center at 4 p.m.
The Penguins improved to 17-2 all-time against the Golden Griffins and won for the 11th straight meeting. YSU is now 7-0 against Bucknell, which was 7-1 heading into the match and started a season 6-0 for the first time in program history.
Paula Gursching and Josi Borum were each named to the all-tournament team at the Western New York Invitational as YSU received two honorees by finishing second at the tournament. Gursching averaged 4.67 kills and 5.67 points per set and notched at least 15 kills in each match in Buffalo. It was her third straight all-tournament team nod. As a setter and right-side hitter, Borum once again filled the stat sheet by averaging 4.66 assists, 1.84 kills, 2.38 digs and 0.63 blocks per set. Against Bucknell, she posted the second triple-double of her career with 10 kills, 25 assists and 16 digs in the five-set victory.
Youngstown State averaged 2.25 aces per set with 27 over 12 sets in Buffalo. That tied with Green Bay for the best average of the week. The Penguins were also able to keep their errors in check last weekend with the aggressive serving, especially on Friday. In the two matches against Buffalo and Canisius, YSU had 19 aces and just six errors in seven sets.
YSU had its second and third-highest single-match block totals of the season in Buffalo. YSU blocked 11 attacks in the four-setter against the Bulls, and it had nine blocks in the five-set win over Bucknell. Dayan Malave was the top individual blocker with 12 total blocks over the 12 sets, and Borum had 10 blocks.
Borum recorded the 700th dig of her career, a number that includes 229 her freshman season at Chicago State. Borum has 472 as a Penguin and 229 as a Cougar to bring her career total to 701.
Setter Isabel Schaefbauer surpassed 500 career assists in YSU's match on Friday at Buffalo. She had 380 assists in two seasons at Winthrop, and the transfer has 154 assists in her first season as a Penguin.
Sixteen different Penguins played in at least one set last weekend.

News & Notes

The Penguins are 5-4 this season and need one more win to match their win total from last season. Youngstown State didn't achieve its fifth win until Oct. 30 in what was its 25th match of the campaign.
Through the first three weeks of the season, outside hitter Paula Gursching leads the Horizon League in kills (4.13) and points (4.77) per set, and she sits second in aces per set (0.41).
At the national level, Gursching ranks 29th in the country in points per set, and she's also in the top 40 in kills per set (35th) and attacks per set (38th). Based on her cumulative totals, Gursching is 34rd in points, 50th in kills and 54th in attacks.
Gursching is a reigning Horizon League Player of the Week after averaging league highs of 4.67 kills and 5.67 points per set last week. This is Gursching's second honor in the first three weeks of the season and the fourth in the first 15 weeks of her career. The four player-of-the-week awards are the most by any Penguin in YSU's 22 seasons in the Horizon League.
Josi Borum is the only player in school history to have multiple career triple-doubles. Her first came in the 2021 spring season, and her second came this past weekend against Bucknell when she had 10 kills, 25 assists and 16 digs. Teammate Paula Gursching had a triple-double last fall, and Karla Everhart had one in 2008.
Isidora Sisic leads the Horizon League with 0.56 aces per set and 15 total aces. She had 21 aces total in her first three collegiate seasons. Sisic is also averaging a career-best 3.48 digs per set in her first season at libero.

Scouting the Opponents

Akron

Akron is 3-6 this season but has won three of its last four matches. One of those victories was a five-set triumph over Cleveland State last weekend at the Akron Invitational. The Zips also swept Morgan State and lost in four sets to Valparaiso in their home tournament at James A. Rhodes Arena.
Akron is under first-year head coach Tyson Norton after going 10-20 overall and 4-14 in 2021. The Zips return 10 players from last year's team, including the squad's top attacker in Teagan Ochaya. Ochaya is averaging 3.11 kills per set this season, and she is coming off a double-double of 13 kills and 14 digs against Morgan State.
Opponents are hitting just .167 against the Zips this season, which is the best mark in the Mid-American Conference. Defensively, Akron is fourth in the MAC with 2.02 blocks per set, and opponents are averaging just 1.06 aces per set.

Kent State

Kent State is off to its best non-conference start since 2014 with a 7-2 mark heading into this week. The Golden Flashes have won their last four matches and are coming off an unbeaten weekend and tournament title at the Marshall Invite.
YSU will be the fourth Horizon League opponent on Kent State's schedule. The Golden Flashes have a four-set wins over Robert Morris and Oakland on their resume, and they will face Cleveland State on Thursday evening in Kent.
Freshman Mackenzie McGuire is the reigning MAC East Division Offensive Player of the Week after receiving MVP honors at the Marshall Invite. She averaged 5.19 points per set and had 63 kills - more than twice the total of any of her teammates - at the tournament. The outside hitter ranks second in the MAC with 3.94 kills per set, and she's third in the league with 4.29 points per set. Several other Golden Flashes rank among the MAC's leaders in various categories, including Danie Tyson's top spot in attack percentage at .394.
Kent State is a veteran team with 13 returning players from last year's team and eight student-athletes entering their fourth or fifth season of college volleyball. The Golden Flashes are under the direction of first-year head coach Haley Eckerman.

Up Next

Youngstown State will begin Horizon League play next week with three conference matches. The Penguins will host Cleveland State on Tuesday before heading to Wisconsin for weekend contests at Milwaukee and Green Bay.