Youngstown State University
Bethune-Cookman
Volleyball Aims to Stay Hot at Florida Atlantic's Tournament This Weekend
9/7/2023 8:09:00 AM | Volleyball
The Youngstown State volleyball team will try to build on the momentum from last week as it flies south for the Owls Paradise Classic this week in Boca Raton, Fla. Florida Atlantic will host the four-team tournament on Abessino Court at Eleanor R. Baldwin Arena on Friday and Saturday.
The Penguins, who will be playing outside of Ohio for the only time in the first four-and-a-half weeks of the season, will take on Bethune-Cookman to begin the tournament on Friday at 10 a.m. YSU will then play FAU at 7 p.m. to close out the opening day, and the Penguins will finish their time in Florida against Incarnate Word at 10 a.m. on Saturday.
Youngstown State's match against FAU will be streamed live on FAUsports.com, and the contests versus Bethune-Cookman and UIW will be streamed on FloSports. Live stats will be available throughout the tournament via links on YSUsports.com.
Gameday Info
Match 1 vs. Bethune-Cookman
- When: Friday, Sept. 8 | 10 a.m.
- Where: Eleanor R. Baldwin Arena | Boca Raton, Fla.
- Watch: FloSports
- Stats: StatBroadcast
- Social: X | Instagram | Facebook
Match 2 at Florida Atlantic
- When: Friday, Sept. 8 | 7 p.m.
- Where: Eleanor R. Baldwin Arena | Boca Raton, Fla.
- Watch: FAUsports.com
- Stats: StatBroadcast
- Social: X | Instagram | Facebook
Match 3 vs. Incarnate Word
- When: Saturday, Sept. 9 | 10 a.m.
- Where: Eleanor R. Baldwin Arena | Boca Raton, Fla.
- Watch: FloSports
- Stats: StatBroadcast
- Social: X | Instagram | Facebook
Recapping Last Week
Youngstown State put up a strong and encouraging showing at the Toledo Invitational last weekend with a pair of victories in three matches. The Penguins began the week with a four-set win over the host Rockets, and they followed that with a five-set victory against Memphis. YSU dropped the tournament title match to Virginia Tech in straight sets.
Match 1: Thursday, Aug. 31 at Toledo: W, 3-1 (25-19, 25-23, 26-28, 25-23) | Recap | Box Score
Match 2: Friday, Sept. 1 vs. Memphis: W, 3-2 (26-24, 25-20, 20-25, 18-25, 15-13) | Recap | Box Score
Match 3: Saturday, Sept. 2 vs. Virginia Tech: L, 0-3 (21-25, 20-25, 18-25) | Recap | Box Score
- The Penguins finished as the runners-up at the Toledo Invitational, which was a big step forward from when they went 1-2 at their season-opening tournament at home.
- The runner-up finish gave Youngstown State a pair of all-tournament team selections, Josi Borum and Jazmin Vergara. Borum averaged 5.73 assists, 2.82 digs and 2.73 kills per set while posting her second triple-double of the season in the win over Toledo. Vergara averaged a team-high 3.82 kills while adding 3.18 digs per set, and she had a double-double in each of YSU's victories.
- For Vergara, it was her second straight all-tournament team honor. She had previously averaged 3.57 kills on a .340 attack percentage at the DoubleTree by Hilton YSU Invitational to open the campaign, which is her first as a Penguin.
- Libero Isidora Sisic averaged 5.17 digs per set, marking the second straight week that she has averaged more than 5.1 digs. She is currently leading the Horizon League with 5.20 digs per set.
- Freshman Gabriela Machin posted a career-high 14 kills on just 24 attempts in YSU's win over Memphis. She had four of those terminations on five swings in the fifth set.
- Senior middle blocker Kiley Mitchell and freshman defensive specialist Maria Insana both made their season debuts in the match against Virginia Tech.
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.
Borum is Active Triple-Double Queen: Fifth-year senior Josi Borum has posted a triple-double in each of the first two weeks of the season, which brings her career total to 17. That is 10 more than any other active Division I student-athlete. Borum had four triple-doubles as a true freshman at Chicago State in 2019, and she has 13 in her three-plus seasons at Youngstown State. In 2022, Borum had 10 triple-doubles, which was four more than any other Division I player and the fourth-most in the country regardless of division.
Vergara Impressing: Junior outside hitter Jazmin Vergara is off to an impressive start in the first two weeks of her Division I career. The transfer from Miami Dade College has been an all-tournament team selection in each of the first two weeks. She averaged 3.57 kills and 2.14 digs at the DoubleTree by Hilton YSU Invitational, and she followed that up with 3.82 kills and 3.18 digs per set in Toledo. Vergara currently ranks third in the Horizon League with 3.72 kills and 4.08 points per set.
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. After six matches in 2023, YSU is hitting .178.
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. Abbie Householder was named to the Horizon League All-Freshman Team while ranking third on the team in kills and digs last season. 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. This season, Householder is averaging 1.92 kills and 2.60 digs per set, Sell leads the team with 1.08 blocks per set, Malave is averaging 0.88 blocks per set, and Schaefbauer is averaging 4.52 assists per set. Each of them has played in all 25 sets.
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
Bethune-Cookman: Bethune-Cookman will head three hours south on I-95 from Daytona Beach to Boca Raton looking for its first victory of the campaign. The Wildcats hosted Marshall and The Citadel during the opening weekend, and they played three matches at East Carolina in week two. Fifth-year senior Jasmine Moore led the Wildcats with 262 kills last season, and setter Alisha Callender was named to the 2023 Southwestern Athletic Conference Preseason First Team. Friday's match will be the first between Bethune-Cookman and YSU in volleyball.
Florida Atlantic: FAU is 4-3 overall and 2-1 on its home floor entering this weekend's tournament. The Owls beat Holy Cross and Fairleigh Dickinson at the FAU Invitational to open the weekend, and they topped Cleveland State and Miami (Ohio) last weekend in Southwest Ohio. Four FAU players are averaging at least 2.1 kills per set, and Kaila Ru adds 1.05 blocks to her team-leading 2.82 kills per set. The Owls return nine players from last year's squad that 13-13, and they were picked to finish third in the American Athletic Conference East Division. Memphis, who YSU beat last weekend, was picked to win that division. The Penguins and Owls have played just one other time in their histories, which resulted in a 3-1 FAU win on Aug. 30, 2002.
Incarnate Word: UIW owns the best record in the field heading into this weekend with a 5-1 mark. The Cardinals went unbeaten in their opening weekend with wins over Arkansas-Pine Bluff, Prairie View A&M and Tarleton State, and they topped Presbyterian and Louisiana Tech in week two. Allison Maplmi (3.67) and Kyla Malone (3.14) are both averaging more than three kills per set, and Annamarie Alvarez is the reigning Southland Conference Offensive Player of the Week. UIW, which was picked to finish sixth in the Southland's preseason poll, needs just one more win to match its mark of six from all of 2022. The Penguins and Cardinals will be meeting for the first time on Saturday.
Up Next
Youngstown State's final week of non-conference action will feature its two closest geographic Division I opponents. The Penguins will host Akron on Sept. 14 at 11 a.m. as part of a special Kids Day match, and they'll play at Kent State at 4 p.m. on Sept. 15.
