After a grueling October featuring seven road matches, the Youngstown State volleyball team will begin a three-match homestand on Friday that will extend through the end of the regular season.
The Penguins will start the stretch by hosting IUPUI at Beeghly Center on Friday at 6 p.m., and they'll also welcome Purdue Fort Wayne on Saturday at 4 p.m. Both matches will be streamed live on ESPN+, and live stats will be available through YSUsports.com.
Gameday Info
Fan Information
- There is free admission for all matches at Beeghly Center in 2023.
- Fans attending Friday's match will receive a YSU lanyard
Recapping Last Week
Youngstown State was away from home for parts of seven consecutive days for a challenging stretch against the top tier of the Horizon League last week. The Penguins left on Monday, Oct. 23, for their match the following day at Northern Kentucky, and they didn't return to Youngstown until Sunday, Oct. 29, after playing at Milwaukee and Green Bay.
- The Penguins battled both NKU and Milwaukee to five sets before coming up short in what could have been impressive road victories. YSU rallied from a 2-0 deficit against the Norse and fell 15-13 in the fifth set, and the Penguins held a 2-1 set advantage at Milwaukee before the Panthers rallied.
- Josi Borum reached 2,000 career assists and 200 career blocks in YSU's match at NKU on Oct. 24. She has 1,617 assists in three-plus seasons at Youngstown State in primarily a 6-2 offense, and she recorded 440 in her freshman season at Chicago State. Earlier this season, Borum became the first active Division I player to reach 1,000 kills, digs and assists.
- Borum had a pair of double-doubles last week, finishing with 16 kills, 21 assists and eight digs at NKU and 14 assists, 12 digs and seven kills at Green Bay.
- Abbie Householder tied her career high with 17 kills at Northern Kentucky last Tuesday.
- Maria Insana averaged three digs per set last week while continuing as YSU's libero. She set a new career high with six assists at Milwaukee, and she had at least four assists in all three matches last week.
- Jocelyn Jourdan set a new career high with six blocks at Milwaukee. She played in 12 of YSU's 13 sets last week and averaged 1.42 kills and 058 blocks per set.
- Middle blockers Dayan Malave and Julia Sell had efficient weeks offensively, combining for 25 kills on 51 attempts and posting a .412 attack percentage. Defensively, Sell averaged 0.92 blocks per set and Malave's average was 0.46.
- In her first full week of action since early September, Elise Moeller led the Penguins with 37 total kills and 3.36 kills per set while hitting an impressive .247. Moeller also averaged 2.82 digs per set and posted a pair of double-doubles at Milwaukee (19 kills, 11 digs) and Green Bay (10 kills, 10 digs). She surpassed 200 career kills in the match against the Panthers.
- Isidora Sisic had five aces over eight sets in the Penguins' matches in Wisconsin, which pushed her to over 100 aces in her collegiate career. She is tied with Householder for the team lead with 30 aces this season.
News & Notes
A Glimpse at the Guins
Milestone Watch
- Josi Borum needs 26 kills to reach 800 in her YSU career. She has 1,076 in her collegiate career spanning four-plus seasons.
- Abbie Householder is 40 kills shy of reaching 500 in her career. The sophomore has 266 kills this season after having 194 as a freshman.
- Dayan Malave is three kills away from getting to 250 in her Youngstown State career. She transferred to YSU from Iowa Western prior to the 2022 season.
- Isabel Schaefbauer is 21 assists away from reaching 1,500 in her collegiate career. She recorded her 1,000th assist as a Penguin earlier this month at Wright State.
- Isidora Sisic needs nine more digs to reach 900 in her Penguins career. She is also five aces from reaching 100 at YSU.
- Jazmin Vergara needs one kill to reach 250 and four digs to reach 200 this season.
Horizon League Rankings (top 15)
Scouting the Opponents
IUPUI
- Team Overview:Â IUPUI is 8-16 overall and 2-11 in Horizon League play. The Jaguars have dropped six straight decisions since their five-set win over YSU in Indianapolis on Oct. 7.
- League Rankings:Â IUPUI ranks fourth in the Horizon League with 1.75 aces per set. However, the Jaguars are at the bottom of the conference with a .143 attack percentage, and opponents are averaging 2.34 blocks per set against them.
- Individual Leaders:Â Maia Long leads IUPUI offensively with 2.51 kills per set, and Morgan Ostrowski ranks third in the conference with a .323 attack percentage. Setter Grace Purichia ranks fifth in the league in assists per set (8.24), and she's also eighth in aces per set (0.37). Addie Evans is 11th in the circuit in both aces (0.32) and digs (3.13) per set.
Purdue Fort Wayne
- Team Overview:Â Purdue Fort Wayne will play at Robert Morris on Friday evening before coming to Youngstown, and the Mastodons head east as winners of two of their last three matches. PFW had an impressive sweep over Green Bay on Oct. 21, and it split five-set decisions last week with a loss at Oakland and a win at IUPUI.
- League Rankings:Â Purdue Fort Wayne ranks in the top half of the Horizon League in points (fifth), hitting percentage (third), assists (fourth), and kills (fourth). The Mastodons have allowed just 1.44 aces per set in league play, which is the second-best mark in the conference.
- Individual Leaders:Â Redshirt freshman Panna Ratkai ranks third in the country in total points and fourth in total kills, and she is 10th nationally with 4.57 kills per set. She's been even better since the start of conference play, averaging 5.04 kills per set while hitting .239. Ratkai is averaging 0.46 aces per set, which ranks second in the league circuit. Taya Hafner ranks fourth in the league with 8.70 assists per set, and LonDynn Betts ranks fifth in the conference with 4.40 digs per set.
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