Youngstown State University
Cleveland State
Volleyball Presented with Big Opportunity This Weekend in Beeghly
10/19/2023 4:42:00 PM | Volleyball
The Youngstown State volleyball team has an opportunity to gain ground on opponents in the middle part of the Horizon League standings this weekend as it welcomes Cleveland State and Oakland to Beeghly Center.
YSU will take on the Vikings on Friday at 6 p.m., and the Penguins will wear their pink jerseys at home for the first time in their annual breast cancer awareness match. The Penguins will then host the Golden Grizzlies on Saturday at 6 p.m. Friday's match will be broadcast live on ESPN+, and live stats will be available for both contests through YSUsports.com.
Youngstown State is 7-14 overall and 2-8 in Horizon League play, and this is a big weekend at home for the Penguins if they want to make a push for a spot in the conference tournament. YSU is currently 3.5 matches behind sixth-place Cleveland State in the standings, and the top six spots advance to the tournament. Cleveland State is 5-4 in conference play, and Oakland is 6-3, which puts the Golden Grizzlies in a tie for fourth with Green Bay.
Gameday Info
Match 1 vs. Cleveland State
- When: Friday, Oct. 20 | 7 p.m.
- Where: Beeghly Center | Youngstown, Ohio
- Watch: ESPN+ | International Stream
- Stats: YSUsports.com
- Social: X | Instagram | Facebook
Match 2 vs. Oakland
- When: Saturday, Oct. 21 | 6 p.m.
- Where: Beeghly Center | Youngstown, Ohio
- Watch: No TV stream
- Stats: YSUsports.com
- Social: X | Instagram | Facebook
Fan Information
- There is free admission for all matches at Beeghly Center in 2023.
- The Penguins will wear their pink jersey tops on Friday to promote breast cancer awareness.
- Fans attending Saturday's match will receive a Dunkin' gift card.
- There is a Youngstown State football game at 2 p.m. on Saturday, and parking for the volleyball match may be affected depending on the length of the contest. Fans arriving early may be subject to football game day parking prices or full lots. Football parking price information is available on the Football Gameday Information page.
Recapping Recent Action
Youngstown State has played its last four matches on the road, and the Penguins went 1-3 in those four contests. Two of those setbacks came in five sets, including a 3-2 loss at Robert Morris last Friday. YSU then fell 3-0 at league-leading Wright State on Tuesday.
- Senior setter Isabel Schaefbauer recorded the 1,000th assist of her Youngstown State career in Tuesday's match in Dayton. Schaefbauer has 1,004 assists in her two years as a Penguin and 1,384 overall in her collegiate career, which includes two seasons at Winthrop. Notably, she also notched her 1,000th overall assist at Wright State's C.J. McLin Gymnasium last November in YSU's match against Green Bay in the 2022 Horizon League Volleyball Championship. Schaefbauer is the 14th student-athlete to have 1,000 assists at YSU (teammate Josi Borum is another), and she has one year of eligibility remaining.
- Abbie Householder extended her streak of consecutive matches with at least 10 kills to 11 when she tied her career high with 17 kills at Robert Morris on Oct. 13. She was held to seven kills at Wright State on Tuesday. Her streak of 11 tied Jessica Fraley (2007) for the third-longest streak by a Penguin in the rally-scoring era.
- Freshman Maria Insana started each of the last two matches at libero for the Penguins. She posted a career-high 23 digs in the five-setter at Robert Morris last Friday, and she had a career-best two aces at Wright State on Tuesday.
- Middle blocker Dayan Malave posted a career-high 10 kills at Robert Morris, and she followed that up with nine kills in just 13 attempts at Wright State on Tuesday. In her last three matches, which includes the contest at IUPUI on Oct. 7, Malave has 25 kills and just one error in 41 attempts for a .585 attack percentage. She is also averaging 1.23 blocks per set in the last three contests, and she matched her career high with seven blocks in the match at Wright State.
- Jazmin Vergara had 18 kills in 51 attempts at Robert Morris last Friday. Beginning with the Milwaukee match on Sept. 30, Vergara is averaging 3.52 kills and hitting .270 over her last five matches and 21 sets.
News & Notes
A Glimpse at the Guins
Milestone Watch:
- Josi Borum needs four blocks to reach 200 for her career, and she is 40 assists away from reaching 2,000 in her collegiate career.
- Abbie Householder is approaching 500 career digs, needing 14 to reach the plateau. She also enters this week with 416 career kills.
- Gabriela Machin is one block shy of 50 for the season.
- Isidora Sisic is 17 digs shy of 900 for her YSU career.
Horizon League Rankings (top 15)
- Josi Borum » 11th in assists per set (5.09)
- Abbie Householder » 15th in kills per set (2.67); 14th in points per set (3.17). She is sixth in the rankings for only conference matches.
- Dayan Malave » eighth in blocks per set (0.93)
- Julia Sell » fourth in blocks per set (1.08)
- Isidora Sisic » seventh in digs per set (4.07); 15th in aces per set (0.29)
- Jazmin Vergara » seventh in kills per set (3.11); 11th in points per set (3.47)
Scouting the Opponents
Cleveland State
- Team Overview: Cleveland State is 11-9 overall and 5-4 in Horizon League matches as it enters the second half of its conference schedule. The Vikings swept the league's Wisconsin schools in Cleveland last week, beating Green Bay 3-1 on Friday and Milwaukee 3-0 on Saturday. The Vikings also beat IUPUI, YSU and Purdue Fort Wayne in the first loop of conference play.
- League Rankings: Cleveland State is strong defensively as it leads the Horizon League with 2.53 blocks per set and a .172 opponent hitting percentage. The Vikings are also second in the circuit with 16.65 digs per set. Offensively, CSU is hitting .211, which ranks second in the conference.
- Individual Leaders: Five Vikings are averaging at least 0.6 blocks per set, and Madison Olinger and JeriLynn Koehler rank fifth and sixth individually. Karly Klaer ranks third in the league with 9.06 assists per set, and Liberty Torres is tied for third in kills per set with 3.23. Emma Walker ranks third in the league with 5.01 digs per set.
Oakland
- Team Overview: Oakland is 12-9 overall and 6-3 in Horizon League play heading into Friday's match at Robert Morris. The Golden Grizzlies are coming off a five-set victory over Green Bay, and they also own a four-set win over Cleveland State this month. Oakland has additional conference wins over Purdue Fort Wayne, Robert Morris, IUPUI at Wright State.
- League Rankings: Oakland leads the Horizon League and ranks third in the country with 17.51 digs per set. Offensively, the Golden Grizzlies rank fourth in the conference with 12.63 kills per set.
- Individual Leaders: Individually, Emily Wichmann ranks eighth in the country in digs per set with 5.45, and her 447 total digs are the third-highest total among Division I players. Patti Cesarini leads Oakland with 250 kills and 3.09 kills per set, and her 856 attacks are the 11th-most in the country.
Up Next
Youngstown State will continue its road-heavy October with three more matches away from Beeghly Center in the final week of the month. YSU will play at Northern Kentucky on Tuesday, and it will travel to Milwaukee and Green Bay next Friday and Saturday.
