Volleyball Starts Big Homestand Tuesday Versus Oakland

Youngstown State vs. Oakland \| vs. IUPUI \| vs. Purdue Fort Wayne
Match 1	Tuesday, Sept. 27 \| 6 p.m. \| Youngstown, Ohio
Opponent & Coverage	vs. Oakland - ESPN+ \| International Stream \| Live Stats
Match 2	Friday, Sept. 30 \| 6 p.m. \| Youngstown, Ohio
Opponent & Coverage	vs. IUPUI - ESPN+ \| International Stream \| Live Stats
Match 3	Saturday, Oct. 1 \| 4 p.m. \| Youngstown, Ohio
Opponent & Coverage	vs. Purdue Fort Wayne - ESPN+ \| International Stream \| Live Stats
Live Tweets	@YSUVolleyball
Hash Tags	#GoGuins \| #HLVB
Mobile App	iOS Download \| Android Download

The Youngstown State volleyball team will embark on one of the most important stretches of the regular season this week as it begins a four-match homestand against Horizon League opponents. The Penguins will have three of those contests in a five-day stretch, beginning Tuesday against Oakland at 6 p.m. in Beeghly Center. Youngstown State will also host IUPUI on Friday and Purdue Fort Wayne on Saturday this week, and the homestand will conclude on Oct. 7 against Robert Morris.

All four home matches in this stretch will be broadcast live on ESPN+ as well as the new Penguins All-Access platform for international viewers. For more information on the international stream, CLICK HERE. Live stats will also be available through SIDEARM Sports through links on the YSU volleyball schedule.

The Penguins will be looking to snap a four-game skid in which they have been competitive in all four matches but come up on the short end of the final result. Youngstown State lost in five sets to Kent State and Cleveland State at Beeghly Center on Sept. 16 and Sept. 20, and it dropped four-set decisions at Milwaukee and Green Bay over the weekend. YSU enters this week with a 6-8 overall record and a conference mark of 0-3.

Fan Information

Gameday Guide

There will be free admission to all three home matches this week
Fans attending Friday's bout against IUPUI will receive a free lunch bag
Saturday's match versus Purdue Fort Wayne will feature an activity book giveaway and Youth Volleyball Day
The Penguins are excited to welcome members of the YSU Pep Band for each of the four matches of this homestand. For more information on the YSU Marching Pride and Pep band, visit the group's website and follow them on Facebook and Instagram

Recapping Last Week

vs. Cleveland State on Tuesday, Sept. 20: L, 2-3 | 14-25, 25-15, 25-20, 15-25, 18-16 | Recap | Box Score
at Milwaukee on Friday, Sept. 23: L, 1-3 | 20-25, 25-21, 25-10, 25-18 | Recap | Box Score
at Green Bay on Saturday, Sept. 24: L, 1-3 | 25-22, 25-22, 24-26, 25-19 | Recap | Box Score

Notes

After posting two more triple-doubles last week, Josi Borum is now tied for the top spot in the country this season with four triple-doubles. Portland's Noelani Helm is the only other Division I player with four triple-doubles in 2022. Entering this week, only two NCAA players regardless of division have more than four. Borum had 11 kills, 29 assists and 12 digs against Cleveland State last Tuesday, then 11 kills, 22 assists and 13 digs at Green Bay on Saturday. All four of her triple-doubles have come in her last six matches. Prior to this season, there had been three triple-doubles by Penguins in school history.
Borum averaged an impressive stat line of 2.23 kills, 5.62 assists, 2.08 digs, 0.54 blocks and 0.38 aces per set in the three matches last week.
Paula Gursching averaged 4.69 kills on a .264 attack percentage and 4.88 points per set in another outstanding week. She averaged at least five kills per set in the matches against Cleveland State and Green Bay, posting 25 kills in the five-setter against the Vikings and 21 in the four-set match against the Phoenix. Gursching has surpassed 20 kills five times in her last six matches and six times overall so far this season.
Gursching accomplished a rare feat in the match against Cleveland State when she registered 25 kills and 24 digs in the five-set contest. It was just the second time in the last 15 seasons that a Penguin had at least 20 kills and 20 digs in a match. The only other time a YSU player had a 20-20 match in kills and digs in the last 15 seasons, which coincides with set scores shortening from 30 points to 25, was Aleah Hughes in 2018 with 20 kills and 21 digs at Kent State.
Abbie Householder finished with 29 digs in the five-set match against Cleveland State on Sept. 20. That is 13 more than she's had in any other match, and it tied for the 10th-most by a YSU player since rally scoring began in 2001. Only two other Penguins, Householder's teammate Caitlyn Jones last season and Hughes in 2016, have had at least 29 digs as a freshman in the rally-scoring era. Jones had 31 last season at Oakland, and Hughes posted 30 at UNC Greensboro in 2016.
Dayan Malave averaged one block per set last week with four solo blocks and nine block assists over 13 sets. She had at least three blocks in all three matches last week, including a season-high seven against Cleveland State.
Youngstown State got away from its strength of aggressive serving against Cleveland State and finished with just one ace in 102 attempts. That tied for a season low for aces. The Penguins then had eight aces in each of the two four-set matches on the road against Milwaukee and Green Bay. YSU ranks third in the conference with 1.57 aces per set, and Isidora Sisic tops the individual rankings with 0.46 per set.
Thirteen different Penguins saw action last week as YSU looked for the right combinations to get over the hump. Freshman middle blocker Julia Sell played in back-to-back matches for the first time this season, and she recorded four blocks in three sets in Wisconsin.
YSU had an attack percentage of at least .190 in all three of its matches last week, and the Penguins have hit .190 or better nine times in their first 14 matches of the season. Youngstown State's season-long attack percentage was .181 in 2021, and the Penguins hit .190 or better 12 times in 29 matches.

Scouting the Opponents

Oakland

Oakland is 5-10 overall and 1-2 in Horizon League play as it comes to Youngstown. The Golden Grizzlies won their conference opener in four sets at Robert Morris last Tuesday, and they lost a pair of home matches to Northern Kentucky (3-0) and Wright State (3-1) over the weekend.
Oakland ranks second in the Horizon League with 16.58 digs per set, and Emily Wichmann ranks second in the conference individually with 5.05 per set. Outside hitter Patti Cesarini ranks second in the conference behind YSU's Paula Gursching in both kills (3.60) and points (4.01) per set.
The Golden Grizzlies are under first-year head coach Krista Rice, who spent the previous six seasons as the Associate Head Coach at Central Michigan. Rice played collegiately at Kent State.
Oakland was picked to finish sixth in the Horizon League's preseason coaches poll.

IUPUI

IUPUI enters this week with a 6-8 overall record and an 0-2 mark in Horizon League play. The Jaguars lost consecutive home matches to Green Bay (3-0) and Purdue Fort Wayne (3-2) to start their league schedule, and they'll host Milwaukee on Tuesday before coming to Northeast Ohio.
Hitting percentages have been low in IUPUI's matches this season as the Jaguars are hitting .159 as a team while limiting their opponents to a .176 mark. The Jaguars also rank second in the conference with 1.62 aces per set, but they allow a league-high 1.93 aces to their foes.
Sophomore Briana Brown leads IUPUI offensively with 3.22 kills per set, which ranks fifth in the conference, and Brooke Phillips is second in the Horizon League with 0.40 aces per set. Addie Evans is one of three players averaging at least 5.0 digs per set.
IUPUI was slotted to finish eighth in the Horizon League preseason poll.

Purdue Fort Wayne

Purdue Fort Wayne enters this week with a 5-8 mark for the season and a 1-1 start to Horizon League play. The Mastodons will host Green Bay on Tuesday and play at Robert Morris on Friday before coming to Youngstown.
PFW ranks second in the Horizon League with 13.02 kills per set offensively, and the 'Dons allow just 12.36 kills per set, which is the third-fewest in the conference. Purdue Fort Wayne averages 16.21 digs per set as a team, which is the third-best clip in the league.
Purdue Fort Wayne is the only team in the conference that has two players averaging at least 3.0 kills per set. Sidney Schiller ranks third (3.26) in the Horizon League, and Iris Riegel is sixth (3.17). Defensively, Rachael Crucis ranks fourth in the circuit with 4.96 digs per set.
The Mastodons were picked to finish fifth in the Horizon League preseason coaches poll.

Up Next

After a grueling stretch of six matches in the first 12 days of conference play, Youngstown State will have a relatively light week with just one match on the docket next week. The Penguins will wrap up their four-match homestand against Robert Morris on Oct. 7 at 6 p.m.