Akron had 13 aces and went on big runs in the second and fourth sets to beat the Youngstown State volleyball team in front of a rowdy group of nearly 700 area students on Thursday morning at Beeghly Center.
The Penguins and Zips played in the first School Field Trip Game in YSU volleyball history, and the teams and spectators had to endure a delay of 1:08 due to a power outage on campus. The arena went dark just as Akron's Eliska Vytiskova's serve hit the net to make the score 15-10 in the opening set at 11:17 a.m., and power was restored just after noon. After more than an hour of what turned into an elementary and middle school dance party via YSU's battery-powered Bluetooth speaker, play resumed at 12:25 p.m., and the rest of the match was played without issue.
On the court, the Zips used their serve to control three of the four sets. Akron won 25-16, 25-16, 19-25, 25-16 behind its 13 aces, and the visitors also had 12 blocks. The Zips came into the match ranking seventh in the country with 2.39 aces per set.
Highlighting Youngstown State's performances was Josi Borum's 13 digs, which put her over 1,000 for her collegiate career. The fifth-year senior who transferred from Chicago State now has 1,005 in her career, which includes 776 in a Penguins jersey. Borum added 18 assists, six kills and four blocks.
Abbie Householder led the offensive effort for the Penguins with 10 kills in 30 attempts, and Gabriela Machin posted eight kills. Jocelyn Jourdan added six kills in 14 attempts in the first action of her career on Rosselli Court.
Faith Johnson had 18 kills, 10 digs and three aces to lead Akron, which improved to 5-5 with the four-set victory. Youngstown State dropped to 4-6 with the decision.
Vytiskova's serving error as the power outage began ended a 9-3 run for the Zips that gave them a 15-9 lead. The Zips scored four of the first five points after the delay to grab a 19-11 advantage, and they took the opening set 25-16.
After Householder's kill tied the second set at 8-8, Akron went on a 15-1 run to go up 23-9. The bulk of those points came on Vanessa Del Real's serve, and Christodoulou had six kills during that burst. Youngstown State fought to get back to within 25-16, and the Guins used that momentum to take the third set.
The Penguins scored 12 of the first 15 points of the third set, and Householder had two kills and an ace during a 6-0 run. YSU built its advantage to 10 on three occasions at 16-6, 18-8 and 19-9, and Akron got as close as 22-18 before another Householder kill sparked a 3-1 run to end the set.
The Penguins then led 12-11 in the fourth set, but Akron's second big run of the match carried the Zips to victory. Akron went on a 10-2 surge to take a 21-14 lead, and it went on to win 25-16.
Youngstown State will conclude the non-conference portion of its schedule on Friday at Kent State. The match against the Golden Flashes at the M.A.C. Center will begin at 4 p.m.
