Youngstown, Ohio — Behind the contributions of its four seniors, Youngstown State's volleyball team finished a weekend sweep of Oakland by beating the Golden Grizzlies in straight sets on Saturday at Zidian Family Arena at Beeghly Center. The scores were 25-20, 25-19, 25-15.
The Penguins celebrated Kiyah Franklin, Dayan Malave, Isabel Schaefbauer and Nyia Setla before the match as they played their final match in Youngstown, and each played big roles in the sweep.
Schaefbauer ran the offense with 39 assists, and the Penguins had their highest hitting percentage ever in a Horizon League match at .362. Franklin had 11 kills in 20 attempts while hitting .400, and Dayan Malave posted six kills in 12 swings while hitting .500. In the back row, Nyia Setla anchored the defense with 11 digs and was strong in serve receive.
Junior Abbie Householder led all players with 14 kills, and she added 10 digs for her third consecutive double-double. Schaefbauer also had a double-double, adding 11 digs to go along with her 39 assists.
While Friday's match featured 34 ties and 14 lead changes in a five-set thriller, the Penguins won with much more cushion on Saturday. YSU did not yield more than 20 points in any set, and the first set created the biggest challenge late.
The Penguins jumped out to a 7-2 advantage following a kill by Franklin, and YSU held the lead for the rest of the set. Oakland got as close as 21-20 late, but the Penguins scored the the four points of the set with three of them coming on Golden Grizzlies errors.
Franklin then had four kills in five attempts in the second set, and YSU did not trail after taking the lead at 11-10 on a Schaefbauer ace. The Penguins went on an 8-2 run to take a 22-16 lead later in the set as they went on to win 25-19.
In the third, YSU did not trail after a four-point run flipped an early 4-1 deficit into a 5-4 lead. That early burst ended with a kill by Franklin, and her kill that made the score 6-5 gave the Penguins the upper hand for good. The margin was 11-10, and YSU closed the weekend by out scoring the Golden Grizzlies 14-5.
Youngstown State will play its next four matches on the road, starting with a two-match set at Cleveland State next weekend. The Penguins and Vikings will play on Friday at 6 p.m. and on Saturday at 2 p.m. at Woodling Gymnasium.
