Youngstown State University
Toledo
Volleyball Travels to Toledo for First Road Tilts of 2023
8/30/2023 3:01:00 PM | Volleyball
The Youngstown State volleyball team will hit the road for the first time this season as it travels to the western part of the state for the Toledo Invitational. The Penguins will play three matches in three days at UT's Savage Arena, starting with a Thursday evening contest against the Rockets at 6 p.m. YSU will then play Memphis on Friday at 4 p.m., and it will conclude the weekend on Saturday against Virginia Tech at noon.
All three of YSU's matches will be streamed live on ESPN+, and live stats will be available throughout the tournament via links on YSUsports.com.
Gameday Info
Match 1 at Toledo
- When: Thursday, Aug. 31 | 6 p.m.
- Where: Savage Arena | Toledo, Ohio
- Watch: ESPN+
- Stats: StatBroadcast
- Social: X | Instagram | Facebook
Match 2 vs. Memphis
- When: Friday, Sept. 1 | 4 p.m.
- Where: Savage Arena | Toledo, Ohio
- Watch: ESPN+
- Stats: StatBroadcast
- Social: X | Instagram | Facebook
Match 3 vs. Virginia Tech
- When: Saturday, Sept. 2 | Noon
- Where: Savage Arena | Toledo, Ohio
- Watch: ESPN+
- Stats: StatBroadcast
- Social: X | Instagram | Facebook
Recapping Last Week
The Penguins went 1-2 at their home tournament, the DoubleTree by Hilton YSU Invitational, last weekend to open the season. YSU began the campaign with a five-set win over Canisius on Aug. 25, but it fell in four sets to Belmont and Saint Francis to close out the weekend.
Match 1: Friday, Aug. 25 vs. Canisius: W, 3-2 (23-25, 25-18, 25-21, 21-25, 15-8) | Recap | Box Score
Match 2: Friday, Aug. 25 vs. Belmont: L, 1-3 (25-16, 21-25, 17-25, 23-25) | Recap | Box Score
Match 3: Saturday, Aug. 26 vs. Saint Francis: L, 1-3 (21-25, 27-25, 24-26, 24-26) | Recap | Box Score
- Junior outside hitter Jazmin Vergara had a great debut weekend as a Penguin to be named to the All-Tournament Team. Vergara averaged 3.57 kills per set while hitting .340, and she added 2.14 digs and 0.57 blocks per set.
- Senior Elise Moeller had perhaps the best match of her career to open her final campaign. The outside hitter posted career highs of 21 kills and 12 digs in the five-set victory over Canisius.
- Josi Borum, who led the country with 10 triple-doubles in 2022, posted her first one of 2023 in the final match of the weekend. Against Saint Francis, Borum posted 23 assists, 13 kills and 11 digs. She now has 16 triple-doubles in her career, which includes one season at Chicago State and three-plus at YSU.
- Libero Isidora Sisic averaged 5.23 digs per set last weekend, which is an improvement from her mark of 3.70 per set in 2022.
- Sophomore outside hitter Abbie Householder registered solid all-around numbers in the three matches. She led the Penguins in total kills (232) and aces (five), and she ranked second in digs (39).
- Julia Sell posted 18 blocks over 13 sets for an average of 1.38. She had at least four blocks in each match, and she opened the campaign with eight blocks in the five-set victory over Canisius.
- The Penguins had a higher attack percentage (.209-.196) and registered more digs (16.38-15.00) and blocks (2.50-1.92) per set than their opponents last weekend despite going 1-2. Four of YSU's seven set losses were by two points.
News & Notes
A Glimpse at the Guins
Returners Overview: Youngstown State returns nine players who appeared in at least 16 matches last season, including Second-Team All-Horizon League selection Josi Borum and Horizon League All-Freshman Team honoree Abbie Householder. Borum was a setter and right-side hitter in YSU's 6-2 offense who led the country in triple-doubles in 2022. Householder ranked third on the team in kills and digs last season as an outside hitter.
Coming Off Best Season Since 2014: The Penguins had their best season since 2014 last year by posting a 14-16 record and qualifying for the Horizon League Volleyball Championship for the first time in eight years. Youngstown State set a new school record with eight Horizon League wins, and those eight wins came in an 11-match stretch from Oct. 1 through Nov. 4.
Offensive Improvement in 2022: The Penguins had one of their best offenses in recent seasons in 2022 as they hit .216, which was their best attack percentage since 2014 and the second-best mark since 1999. Youngstown State averaged 12.48 kills per set, which was also its highest in eight seasons. YSU averaged 1.62 aces per set, which was its most for a season since the 2001 squad averaged 1.90 aces per set. The Penguins had their best attack percentage ever in Horizon League play by hitting .214, and their 12.86 kills per set in conference matches were the most by a Penguins team since 2012.
Captains: Josi Borum, Elise Moeller, Isabel Schaefbauer and Isidora Sisic will serve as team captains in 2023. Borum and Sisic are repeat captains from 2022. All four student-athletes are transfers from other Division I institutions. Borum and Sisic arrived from Chicago State, Moeller is from Evansville, and Schaefbauer came from Winthrop.
Hoping for Big Things in Year Two: The Penguins got a big boost from newcomers in 2022. In addition to Householder's accolades, Dayan Malave played in all but three sets and led the team with 85 total blocks, Julia Sell was strong in the second half of the season and averaged a team-best 0.88 blocks per set, and Isabel Schaefbauer led the team with 622 assists and 5.27 assists per set. In the opening weekend, Malave averaged 0.92 blocks per set, Sell led the tournament with 1.38 blocks per set, and Schaefbauer averaged 5.00 assists per set.
New Coaching Roles: There are two new assistant coaches on YSU's staff this season as Keith Lundgren and Kelly Kiger have joined the program. Additionally, Jesus Echevarria was promoted to the title of Associate Head Coach.
International Flavor: The YSU volleyball program is a melting pot of cultures with six countries being represented on the bench. Josi Borum, Kiyah Franklin, Michelle Fredrick, Abbie Householder, Maria Insana, Caitlyn Jones, Jocelyn Jourdan, Kiley Mitchell, Elise Moeller, Isabel Schaefbauer, Julia Sell and assistant coach Kelly Kiger are from the continental United States. Gabriela Machin, Dayan Malave and Associate Head Coach Jesus Echevarriahail from Puerto Rico. Additionally, Jazmin Vergara hails from Colombia, Isidora Sisic is from Serbia, Head Coach Aline Scott is from Brazil, and Assistant Coach Keith Lundgren is from Canada.
Scouting the Opponents
Toledo: Toledo went 1-2 at the Wake Forest Invitational to open the season, beating Northeastern 3-2 and falling in straight sets to Wake Forest and Grand Canyon. Taylor Alt, a preseason All-MAC selection, paced the Rockets with 3.55 kills per set, and she had 38 more attempts than any other Toledo player. Rhyenne Filisi averaged 0.91 blocks per set, and Ryann Jaqua averaged 4.55 digs per set. Toledo brings back 12 letterwinners from last year's team that posted a 19-13 record and advanced to the second round of the NIVC. Toledo holds a 19-6 advantage in thee all-time series, and the last meeting between the teams resulted in a 3-0 Rockets win on Sept. 11, 2021, at Savage Arena.
Memphis: Memphis hosted the Tiger Brawl to open the season last weekend and went 2-1. The Tigers swept Alcorn State and picked up a five-set victory over Samford on Aug. 25, and they lost 3-0 to Miami (Ohio) on Aug. 26. Tabytha Toelke averaged a team-high 2.79 kills per set, Northern Kentucky transfer Reilly Briggs averaged 2.73 kills per set. Friday's match will be the first meeting between the Tigers and Penguins. YSU is 2-4 all-time against teams from the American Athletic Conference, and its last victory against a team from the league was a win over Charlotte in 2008. Memphis is coached by Sean Burdette, who was previously the head coach at Green Bay.
Virginia Tech: Virginia Tech went 3-0 at its home tournament, the Hokie Invitational, last weekend by sweeping all three matches. Sydney Petersen averaged 1.89 kills and 0.89 blocks as the Most Valuable Player, and Leandra Mangual Duran and Hailey Pearce joined her on the All-Tournament Team. The Penguins have three previous victories over teams from the ACC, with the most-recent being a five-set victory over Virginia in 2014. Previously, YSU beat NC State in 2002 and Pitt in 2001. YSU has only played Virginia Tech once, which was a 3-0 victory by the Hokies on Nov. 10, 1984.
Up Next
Youngstown State's final non-conference trip out of the state will be at Florida Atlantic next weekend. The Penguins will play Bethune-Cookman and FAU on Sept. 8, and they'll battle Incarnate Word on Sept. 9
