Junior Abbie Householder posted her first career 20-20 match, and the Youngstown State volleyball team got contributions from across the lineup in a 3-2 victory over LIU on Sunday at the UConn Tournament. The set scores were 24-26, 25-23, 25-23, 20-25, 15-7.
Householder finished with a career-high 22 kills and 26 digs to become just the third Penguin since 2007 to have at least 20 kills and 20 digs in a match. She had plenty of help as Gabriela Machin posted 12 kills, and Bianca Giglio registered a career-best 10 kills. Isabel Schaefbauer posted career-bests of 54 assists and 24 digs, and Nyia Setla laced four of YSU's 12 aces while adding 11 digs.
The victory was the first for the Penguins under head coach Riley Jarrett, and it came a day after YSU pushed UConn to five sets in a 3-2 loss.
Householder actually had a 20-20 over the final four sets as she got scorching hot after LIU held her to two kills and four errors in the opening set. The outside hitter from Canfield, Ohio, responded to post four kills in the second and third sets, and she had eight kills in the fourth set to bring her total to 18. Householder had four kills in 12 attempts while adding six digs in the fifth set.
Camelia Melendez had 18 kills and 18 digs to lead LIU. The Sharks had a 14-3 edge in blocks in the match, but the Penguins countered with 17 more kills and a 12-7 advantage in aces.
The first three sets were each decided by two points, and Youngstown State came out on top in two of them to take a 2-1 lead in the match.
The Penguins let the first set slip away after holding a 23-20 lead as LIU scored six of the final seven points to win 26-24. YSU held that same 23-20 advantage in the second set but fought off the Sharks as a kill by Giglio gave YSU a 24-22 lead, and Dayan Malave had a kill on the second set point. Giglio had five kills and two aces in the set, and Householder had four terminations in nine attempts.
Youngstown State held a 17-12 advantage in the third set and held off LIU again for a 25-23 win. Householder's fourth kill of the set gave YSU a 23-20 lead, and Giglio and Malave once again provided the final two points on kills. Kelsey Cooper came off the bench to provide a big lift in the middle with four kills in five attempts and a block assist.
Despite Householder's eight kills in the fourth, LIU held the lead for the duration after it was 3-2 and went on to win the set 25-20.
In the fifth set, Youngstown State went on a 6-1 burst to flip a 2-1 deficit into a 7-3 lead behind Cooper's serve. Machin had four kills and a block during that stretch, and Schaefbauer's kill gave the Penguins a 7-3 advantage. LIU got no closer than three, and the Penguins punctuated the opening weekend with a 6-1 run.
Youngstown State will continue its non-conference schedule next weekend with three matches at Eastern Kentucky's Geri Polvino Invitational. YSU will play Radford and Morehead State on Friday, and it'll take on the host Colonels on Saturday.
