Youngstown State fifth-year senior Josi Borum recorded her first triple-double of the season, but the Penguins dropped a tightly-contested, four-set decision to Saint Francis on Saturday afternoon to conclude the DoubleTree by Hilton YSU Invitational, presented by Mercy Health. The set scores from Beeghly Center were 25-21, 25-27, 26-24, 26-24.
Borum, who led all Division I players with 10 triple-doubles in 2022, collected her first of 2023 against the Red Flash with 23 assists, 13 kills and 11 digs. Junior transfer Jazmin Vergara, who was YSU's representative on the all-tournament team, collected her first double-double as a Penguin with a team-high 16 kills and 11 digs. Her 16 kills came in just 32 attempts, and she hit .344 while adding two aces and two blocks.
Julia Sell contributed six blocks, and Isidora Sisic led all players with 24 digs.
Korrin Burns led the Red Flash with 22 kills and 12 digs.
Saint Francis won the opening set 25-21, and the final three sets were each decided by two points and went beyond 25 points. There were 38 ties and 15 lead changes.
The final tie in the opening set came at 19-19 on an Isabel Schaefbauer ace, and the Penguins trailed just 21-20 following a kill by Abbie Householder. SFU scored the next three points, two of which came on a YSU serving error and an ace, on its way to the 25-21 win.
YSU built an 18-10 advantage in the second set, and its largest lead came at 20-11 following a Sell block. SFU charged back and saved seven set points as part of a 13-4 run to tie the score at 24, but the Penguins were able to hold on and win 27-25 on a block by Borum and Sell.
There were 15 ties in the third set, and YSU's final lead was 20-19 on a kill by Borum. The score was tied at 20, 21, 22, 23 and 24 before a serving error and a Burns kill gave SFU a 26-24 set win and a 2-1 advantage in the match.
The largest lead for either squad was three in the fourth set, and Youngstown State held a 21-19 advantage after an SFU serving error. The Red Flash scored the next four points to go up 23-21, and they had a pair of match points that were saved on a Vergara kill and an attack error. Skye Eicher followed her error with a kill to set up another match point, and SFU blocked Vergara to win 26-24.
Youngstown State will play three matches next week at the Toledo Invitational, starting with a contest against the Rockets on Thursday at 6 p.m.
