Senior Day to Highlight Busy Home Week for Volleyball

Youngstown State's volleyball team will play on its home floor three times this week as the calendar flips to November. The Penguins will host Robert Morris on Tuesday at 6 p.m., and they'll take on Oakland at Zidian Family Arena at Beeghly Center for a weekend series on Friday and Saturday.

Friday's match against the Golden Grizzlies will begin at 6 p.m., and Saturday's contest will start at 2. YSU seniors Kiyah Franklin, Dayan Malave, Isabel Schaefbauer and Nyia Setla will be celebrated before Saturday's match, which will be their final contest on Rosselli Court.

All three matches will be streamed live on ESPN+, and live stats will be available through the SIDEARM Stats platform on YSUsports.com.

Match 1 vs. Robert Morris

Youngstown State University Logo Robert Morris

When: Tuesday, Oct. 29 | 6 p.m.
Where: Zidian Family Arena at Beeghly Center | Youngstown, Ohio
Watch: ESPN+ | International Stream
Stats: SIDEARM Stats
Social: X | Instagram | Facebook

Match 2 vs. Oakland

Youngstown State University Logo Oakland Golden Grizzlies

When: Friday, Nov. 1 | 6 p.m.
Where: Zidian Family Arena at Beeghly Center | Youngstown, Ohio
Watch: ESPN+ | International Stream
Stats: SIDEARM Stats
Social: X | Instagram | Facebook

Match 3 vs. Oakland

Youngstown State University Logo Oakland Golden Grizzlies

When: Saturday, Nov. 2 | 2 p.m.
Where: Zidian Family Arena at Beeghly Center | Youngstown, Ohio
Watch: ESPN+ | International Stream
Stats: SIDEARM Stats
Social: X | Instagram | Facebook

Fan Information

There is free admission for all matches at Zidian Family Arena at Beeghly Center in 2024.
Fans at Tuesday's match against Robert Morris will receive a YSU clear carry bag.
The Penguins will celebrate Senior Weekend during their two matches against Oakland. YSU's four seniors - Kiyah Franklin, Dayan Malave, Isabel Schaefbauer and Nyia Setla - will be recognized before Saturday's contest for their careers.

Recapping Last Week

Youngstown State suffered a pair of sweeps at Milwaukee last week, falling 3-0 to the Panthers on Friday and Saturday at the Klotsche Center. The Penguins pushed the Panthers to 25-21 and 25-23 on Friday, and they held a 21-14 lead in the third set on Saturday before falling 25-22.

Match 1: Friday, Oct. 25 at Milwaukee: L, 0-3 (21-25, 23-25, 16-25) | Recap | Box Score Match 2: Saturday, Oct. 26 vs. Milwaukee: L, 0-3 (16-25, 9-25, 22-25) | Recap | Box Score

The Penguins had a strong weekend at the serving line with 15 aces and nine errors in six sets. Maria Insana led YSU individually with four aces, and Isabel Schaefbauer and Abbie Householder had three apiece.
YSU held a 15-10 edge in aces, and the Penguins also had a 13-11 advantage in blocking over the weekend. Dayan Malave averaged 1.17 blocks per set, and Kelsey Cooper averaged 0.83.
The difference was on offense as Milwaukee had an 87-56 edge in kills while having a .296-.070 advantage in attack percentage.
Abbie Householder led the Penguins offensively with 3.50 kills per set, and she also recorded her 100th career block.
Bianca Giglio nearly posted a double-double on Friday with nine kills and 10 digs. Her nine kills came on 17 attempts.
Nyia Setla led YSU's efforts in the back row with 23 total digs and 3.83 digs per set. She was targeted in serve receive 33 times and had just one receiving error.

A Glimpse at the Guins

Horizon League Leaders

Kelsey Cooper - 8th in blocks per set (0.88)
Abbie Householder - 2nd in points per set (4.57), 2nd in kills per set (3.99), 9th in aces per set (0.35), 14th in digs per set (3.08)
Dayan Malave - 10th in blocks per set (0.82), 16th in attack percentage (.223)
Teagan Ng - 12th in aces per set (0.33)
Isabel Schaefbauer - 5th in assists per set (8.44), 13th in digs per set (3.20)
Nyia Setla - 8th in digs per set (4.13), 15th in aces per set (0.30)

Upcoming Milestones

Kiyah Franklin is 14 kills shy of 300 in her career
Bianca Giglio needs five kills to reach 100 for her career, and she is three digs shy of 300
Abbie Householder needs 11 aces to reach 100 in her career
Gabriela Machin is seven kills shy of 250 in her career
Isabel Schaefbauer needs 154 assists to reach 2,000 as a Penguin

News & Notes

Abbie Householder enters the week averaging 3.99 kills per set this season. That is the sixth-highest average in school history, and it is the third-best clip in the rally-scoring era. Only former teammate Paula Gurshing has averaged more kills per set in rally scoring.
Householder is also averaging 3.08 digs per set in 2024. If she can keep her average above 3.0 per set, she would become just the seventh Penguin in program history to average at least three kills and three digs per set. Missy Hundelt is the only YSU player to post those averages in the rally-scoring era when she averaged 3.01 kills and 3.34 kills over 67 sets in an injury-shortened 2013 campaign.
Isabel Schaefbauer is on pace to end her career ranking among the top nine in program history in career assists and career assists per set. Entering this week, Schaefbauer is ninth in both categories with 1,846 total assists and 5.84 assists per set. Eighth place in career assists is currently Tina Gregory's 2,176, which is ahead of Schaefbauer. In assists per set, Schaefbauer is between Alexia Byrnes' 6.39 and Dani Soubliere's 5.69.
Nyia Setla is averaging 4.13 digs per set, which is the seventh-best average in program history. Nikki Thompson (2014 and 2015) and Lauren Blanco (2017) are the only Penguins to average more in the rally-scoring format.

Scouting the Opponents

Robert Morris

Robert Morris will come to Youngstown with an 8-14 overall record and 3-8 mark in Horizon League play. The Colonials won two of their first three matches to start the conference portion of their schedule, and one of those victories was a five-set triumph over YSU on Oct. 1.
The Colonials rank second in the Horizon League with 2.10 blocks per set, and they are third with 1.65 aces per set. With those points coming on blocks and serves, RMU is ninth in the circuit in kills per set at 11.74.
Azra Eric leads the Horizon League with 1.18 blocks per set, and she is one of three Colonials ranking in the top eight in the conference in aces per set. Natalie Stepanovich is RMU's top attacker with 2.68 kills per set.

Oakland

Like Robert Morris, Oakland is 3-8 in Horizon League matches entering the week, and the Golden Grizzlies will host Cleveland State on Tuesday. Oakland and IU Indy traded sweeps last weekend in a split series, and the Golden Grizzlies' other two conference wins came over RMU on Oct. 4-5.
Two Oakland players rank among the top five players in the conference in defensive stats as Ainsley Guse ranks second in the Horizon League with 1.01 blocks per set, and Emily Wichmann ranks fourth in the circuit with 4.94 digs per set.

Up Next

After Saturday, the Penguins will play four straight road matches to wrap up the regular season. The stretch begins on Nov. 8-9 at Cleveland State, and YSU will also play at Purdue Fort Wayne on Nov. 15-16.