Volleyball Travels to Milwaukee for Two Conference Matches This Weekend

Youngstown State's volleyball team will fly to Milwaukee this week for a pair of Horizon League matches at the Klotsche Center. The Penguins and Panthers will play on Friday at 7 p.m. Eastern, and the teams will take the floor again on Saturday at 3 p.m. Eastern. Live stats for both matches will be available through links on the volleyball schedule on YSUsports.com.

These are the Penguins' only two road matches in a stretch of playing seven out of nine in Youngstown. YSU was last on the road on Oct. 5 at Northern Kentucky, and the Penguins will return to Zidian Familiy Arena at Beeghly Center for three matches next week.

Recapping Last Week

The Penguins earned their first Horizon League victory of the season last week as they split a pair of matches against IU Indy at Zidian Family Arena at Beeghly Center. Youngstown State beat the Jaguars 3-1 on Friday evening, and it held a 2-0 set lead over the visitors on Saturday before IU Indy rallied for a 3-2 victory.

Match 1: Friday, Oct. 18 vs. IU Indy: W, 3-1 (25-21, 25-21, 18-25, 25-16) | Recap | Box Score

Match 2: Saturday, Oct. 19 vs. IU Indy: L, 2-3 (25-18, 25-10, 24-26, 20-25, 12-15) | Recap | Box Score

The Penguins outhit the Jaguars .230 to .155 over the two matches. IU Indy had 12 more kills, but the Jags also had 29 more attack errors.
YSU's middle blockers, Kelsey Cooper and Dayan Malave, had a great pair of matches offensively. Both players had 15 kills, and they combined to hit .369 on 65 attempts. Malave led the team with seven total blocks and 0.78 blocks per set, and Cooper finished with six blocks and 0.67 blocks per set.
Abbie Householder led the team with 4.33 kills and 3.67 digs per set last week. Additionally, she hit an impressive .308 over 104 attempts, and she had just seven attack errors. The junior had double-doubles in both matches, finishing with 16 kills and 20 digs on Friday, and 23 kills and 13 digs on Saturday.
Gabriela Machin finished with 15 kills over seven sets last week. She had five kills in 11 swings off the bench on Friday, and she posted 10 kills while playing in all five sets on Saturday.

A Glimpse at the Guins

Horizon League Individual Rankings

Kelsey Cooper - 8th in blocks per set (0.88)
Abbie Householder - 2nd in kills per set (4.03), 2nd in points per set (4.60), 11th in aces per set (0.33), 14th in digs per set (3.12), 20th in hitting percentage (.213)
Dayan Malave - 10th in hitting percentage (.246), 12th in blocks per set (0.78)
Teagan Ng - 10th in aces per set (0.34)
Isabel Schaefbauer - 5th in assists per set (8.56), 13th in digs per set (3.27)
Julia Sell - 10th in blocks per set (0.85)
Nyia Setla - 8th in digs per set (4.15), 18th in aces per set (0.29)

Upcoming Milestones

Kiyah Franklin needs 19 kills to reach 300 for her career.
Bianca Giglio is 13 digs away from 300.
Abbie Householder's next kill will be the 800th of her career. She needs two more blocks to reach 100 in that category.
Maria Insana needs eight digs to reach 300 in her career.
Gabriela Machin is 11 kills away from 250 in her career.

Scouting Milwaukee

Milwaukee is 12-10 overall and 7-2 in Horizon League play, and the Panthers are one game behind Wright State for the top spot in the conference standings. The Panthers and Raiders split their series this past weekend, and Milwaukee had a 3-0 loss at Northern Kentucky on Oct. 12.
In conference matches, Milwaukee is holding opponents to a league-best .167 attack percentage. Offensively, the Panthers are hitting .233 as a team and are averaging 13.21 kills per set in league play.
Individually, Madi Malone is averaging 3.89 kills per set in conference matches and 3.23 kills overall. Kara Erdmann is a reigning Horizon League Player of the Week, and she is averaging a conference-high 5.97 digs per set in league play.

Up Next

Youngstown State will play its final three home matches of the season next week. The Penguins will host Robert Morris on Tuesday at 6 p.m., and they'll follow with a weekend series against Oakland next Friday and Saturday. The match on Nov. 1 against the Golden Grizzlies will begin at 6 p.m., and the home finale on Nov. 2 will begin at 2 p.m. YSU's senior class will be celebrated before the final match.