The Youngstown State put forth a gritty comeback bid but fell short in a 3-2 loss at Northern Kentucky on Tuesday evening. The set scores from Regents Hall were 25-20, 25-17, 24-26, 23-25, 15-13.
The Penguins were down 2-0 in the match but fought back to win the next two sets to force the tiebreaker. YSU saved one match point and had a replay go in its favor to save another before NKU prevailed 15-13 in the fifth set.
Youngstown State finished with a 64-58 edge in kills, including a 41-29 advantage over the final three sets. NKU benefited from a 13-1 gap in aces, and the Norse had 12 attack errors while forcing YSU into a total of 29 attack errors as they improved to 9-3 in the conference.
Abbie Householder finished with team highs of 17 kills and 18 digs, and Josi Borum finished with 16 kills, 21 assists, eight digs and a pair of blocks. Isabel Schaefbauer posted 30 assists, and Julia Sell finished with six blocks and four kills.
Abby Kanakry and Joy Banks both had 19 kills to lead NKU.
The Norse scored four of the final five points of the opening set to win 25-20, and they pulled away midway through the second set on their way to a 25-17 win. There were just three ties and one lead change through the first two sets, but there were 25 ties and 13 lead changes over the final three sets.
In the third set, an Elise Moeller kill gave the Penguins a 16-15 lead, and they did not trail again. They eventually built a 23-20 cushion on a Borum kill, and a kill by Householder and a block by Jocelyn Jourdan and Dayan Malave gave them the set after NKU tied it at 25.
The Norse led 17-10 in the fourth set after consecutive kills by Skyy Smith, but the Penguins scored six straight points behind Householder's serve to get back within one at 17-16. NKU got its lead back to 20-16, but the Penguins closed the set on a 9-3 burst. Sell had a pair of blocks and a kill during that stretch.
The fifth set was played within a point until the Norse scored three straight to take a 9-7 advantage. A kill by Schaefbauer sparked a 3-0 run by the Penguins, and consecutive kills by Householder gave Youngstown State a 12-10 lead. The Norse had three blocks down the stretch to hold on for the win.
Youngstown State will head to Wisconsin for two matches in the Badger State this weekend. The trip will begin at Milwaukee on Friday at 7 p.m. Eastern, and the Penguins will play at Green Bay on Saturday at 5 p.m. Eastern. Both matches will be broadcast live on ESPN+.
