Volleyball Travels to Akron, Hosts Kent State in First Matches in Ohio of 2024

The Youngstown State volleyball team will play in Ohio for the first time in 2024 this week as it will take on a pair of Mid-American Conference foes. The Penguins will play at Akron on Thursday, and they'll host Kent State on Friday for the first event in the refreshed Zidian Family Arena at Beeghly Center.

Both matches this week will begin at 6 p.m., and Friday's contest against the Golden Flashes will be broadcast live on ESPN+. Live stats will be available for both matches through links on the volleyball schedule on YSUsports.com and the program's social media platforms.

Gameday Info

Match 1 at Akron

Youngstown State University Logo Akron logo

When: Thursday, Sept. 19 | 6 p.m.
Where: James A. Rhodes Arena | Akron, Ohio
Stats: SIDEARM Stats
Social: X | Instagram | Facebook

Match 2 vs. Kent State

Youngstown State University Logo Kent State

When: Friday, Sept. 20 | 6 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 Beeghly Center in 2024.
Fans attending Friday's match will receive a YSU volleyball schedule magnet and the 2024 team poster.

Recapping Last Week

Youngstown State turned in its best weekly record so far this season by going 2-1 at the Ellicott Hotels Western New York Invitational in the Buffalo area. The Penguins earned a four-set victory at Canisius last Thursday for their first true road victory of the season, and they followed that with a three-set win at Niagara the following day. YSU's week ended with a 3-0 loss to a Bucknell squad that is off to an 8-1 start in 2024.

Individual Player Notes

Kiyah Franklin began the week by posting a dozen kills in 24 swings in the four-set win over Canisius. That tied her previous season high of 12 in a five-setter against UConn on Aug. 31. A day later, Franklin tied her career high with eight digs at Niagara.
Abbie Householder led the Horizon League in points for the second straight week, averaging 5.00 points per set over the two matches. She began the week by posting her fourth double-double with 13 kills and 14 digs to go along with five aces in a four-set win at Canisius. Householder then posted 16 kills in 32 attempts and hit .344 as the Penguins swept Niagara. She finished the week with 12 kills in three sets against Bucknell, which is 8-1 this season. In addition to pacing the league in points last week, Householder was fourth in the circuit with 4.10 kills per set, and she tied for fifth with 0.50 aces per set.
Teagan Ng registered a career-high 14 kills in Youngstown State's four-set victory at Canisius. She followed that up with 10 kills in the 3-0 win at Niagara a day later for her second straight double-digit effort. Ng is averaging 2.13 kills, which is the second-most among all Horizon League freshmen, and 0.37 aces per set this season.
Isabel Schaefbauer averaged 9.90 assists per set over the three matches last week, which ranked second in the conference. She averaged 11 assists per set in the wins at Canisius and Niagara, and she had 15 digs to go along with her 22 assists in the three-setter against Bucknell. Her double-double against the Bison was her fifth of the season. Schaefbauer surpassed her previous single-match high in blocks last week when she posted four block assists at Canisius, and she set a new career high with five kills against Bucknell.
Julia Sell posted 10 blocks in 10 sets last week, and her one block per set average ranked fifth in the conference. The junior had a season-high seven blocks in the four-set win at Canisius, and she followed up with three blocks in the sweep at Niagara. Sell added career highs of eight kills and 16 attempts against the Purple Eagles.
Nyia Setla averaged 5.40 digs per set last week, which was the second-best clip among all Horizon League players. Setla registered a career-high 27 digs in the four-set victory at Canisius on Thursday, including 11 in the opening set. The fifth-year senior transfer then had 14 digs at Niagara and 13 against Niagara in three-set matches.

A Glimpse at the Guins

Horizon League Individual Leaders
- Kelsey Cooper - 8th in hitting percentage (.255); 8th in blocks per set (0.80)
- Kiyah Franklin - 25th in kills per set (2.08)
- Abbie Householder - 2nd in points per set (4.52); 4th in kills per set (3.79); 6th in aces per set (0.39); 12th in digs per set (3.36); 22nd in blocks per set (0.58)
- Teagan Ng - 9th in aces per set (0.37); 23rd in kills per set (2.13); 24th in points per set (2.58)
- Isabel Schaefbauer - 2nd in assists per set (9.30); 11th in digs per set (3.39)
- Julia Sell - sixth in blocks per set (0.81)
- Nyia Setla - eighth in digs per set (4.33)
Upcoming Milestones
- Kiyah Franklin is 20 kills from 250 in her career.
- Abbie Householder needs seven digs to reach 700 in her career.
- Maria Insana is 30 digs shy of 250.
- Dayan Malave needs seven blocks to reach 200 in her YSU career. She is also 20 kills shy of 300.
- Isabel Schaefbauer needs 56 assists to reach the 1,5000 plateau in her Youngstown State career. The fifth-year senior is 176 assists away from 2,000 overall.
- Julia Sell needs 10 blocks to reach 200 in her career.
Debuting A Beeghly Refresh: Friday will be the competition debut of the newly named Zidian Family Arena at Beeghly Center. The red chairbacks in the lower bowl have been replaced for the first time in the building's history, and new seats were also added to the sides of the upper deck. Among the other improvements for fan and student-athlete experience include new screens in the videoboard and new amplifiers for the sound system. The arena is now called The Zidian Family Arena after the Tom Zidian family donated $1 million. The building's south lobby is now the Window World Fred & Lucy Moran Lobby after a $500,000 donation.
Leading the League in Digs: Improving in the back row was a big priority for the Penguins in the preseason, and the emphasis has been successful so far as Youngstown State leads the Horizon League and ranks 15th nationally with 17.42 digs per set through the first three weeks. The Penguins have averaged more than 15 digs per set just once since the beginning of 25-point rally-scoring format in 2008. YSU was sixth in the conference in 2023 with 15.23 digs per set. Newcomer Nyia Setla leads the Penguins with 4.33 digs per set, Isabel Schaefbauer averages 3.39 digs, and Abbie Householder averages 3.36. Youngstown State's serve receive has also shown an uptick, improving from .902 in 2023 to .921 in 2024.
Big Roles for Freshmen: Youngstown State has had contributions from many newcomers in 2024, but two freshmen have assumed big roles in the first three weeks of the season. Teagan Ng has played in 30 sets at outside hitter, and she has started all nine matches. Ng ranks second among all Horizon League freshmen with 2.13 kills per set, and she leads conference freshmen in aces per set. Cooper has started the last six matches, and she ranks second among league freshmen with 0.80 blocks per set, and she's leading the Penguins with a .255 hitting percentage.
Householder Stepping Up: Junior Abbie Householder is averaging career highs in kills (3.79), aces (0.39), digs (3.36) and blocks (0.58) per set over the first nine matches of her junior campaign. She has posted the two highest single-match kills totals of her career, and she has recorded four double-doubles. One of those was a 20-20 match with 22 kills and 26 digs against LIU, making her just the third Penguin since 2007 to have at least 20 kills and 20 digs in the same match. Compared with her Horizon League peers, Householder ranks among the top 12 in points (second), kills (fourth), aces (sixth) and digs (12th) per set.
Road-heavy schedule to start: Friday marks the end of a 10-match road stretch to begin the 2024 season. Youngstown State opened a season on the road for the first time since 2018, and it played in three different states before taking the floor in the Buckeye State. Starting in 2019, YSU hosted a multiple-team event on the opening weekend of each season except for the Spring 2021 campaign that was adjusted for the pandemic.
Jarrett takes the reigns: Riley Jarrett is in her first season as YSU's head coach, and she is at the Division I level for the first time in her career. YSU's previous head coach, Aline Scott, resigned on Feb. 22 to pursue a career out of coaching, and Jarrett was hired on April 9. Jarrett had a week to practice with the Penguins in the spring, and she brought on assistant coaches Maddie Clayton and Grace Wilson in May and June, respectively. Jarrett is a Northeast Ohio native who played collegiately at Division III Mount Union in Ohio. She went on to lead Division II West Liberty in West Virginia to three straight 20-win seasons before coming to Youngstown.
Schaefbauer, Giglio make up leadership team: Fifth-year senior Isabel Schaefbauer and junior Bianca Giglio were voted to the Leadership Team by their teammates. Both student-athletes are transfers who began their careers at other Division I schools. Schaefbauer, who began her career at Winthrop, is entering her third season as a setter for the Penguins. She has played in all 232 sets since she arrived on campus. Giglio is a transfer from Marshall who is in her first season at Youngstown State.
Excelling in the classroom: Youngstown State juniors Abbie Householder and Julia Sell were both named Academic All-District by the College Sports Communicators in 2023. They joined former Penguins Josi Borum and Isidora Sisic, a duo that also earned Academic All-Horizon League accolades. As a team, YSU earned the AVCA Team Academic Award for the 11th straight season for maintaining a year-long GPA of at least 3.3 on a 4.0 scale. Youngstown State's GPA for the 2023-24 academic year was 3.54, and Householder, Sisic, Maria Insana, Gabriela Machin and Isabel Schaefbauer each achieved a 4.0 in both semesters.
Horizon League preseason poll: Youngstown State was slotted to finish 10th in the Under Armour #HLVB Preseason Coaches Poll. Wright State received nine of the 10 first-place votes for 99 points, and NKU was picked second with 85 points. Milwaukee (73), Green Bay (71), Cleveland State (63) and Oakland (53) were slotted for the next four spots to round out the top six, which is how many teams qualify for the Horizon League Volleyball Championship. Purdue Fort Wayne (38), IU Indianapolis (26) and RMU (26) were seventh and tied for eighth.

Scouting the Opponents

Akron

Akron enters Thursday's match with a 3-7 record and looking to stop a three-match losing streak. The Zips' three victories have been sweeps, their last one coming over Saint Francis U on Friday. Since the victory over the Red Flash, Akron has lost 3-1 to Michigan, 3-2 to Sacramento State and 3-2 to Cincinnati.
The Zips rank among the top 15 in the country in total assists, kills and aces, and they are second in the MAC in hitting percentage. Akron hitting .233 collectively while averaging an impressive 1.85 aces per set.
Lauren Baker leads the Zips with 3.27 kills per set, and Emanouela Christodoulou and Gabby Brissett are both averaging more than 2.4 kills per set. Defensively, Karleighana Jones leads Akron with 1.05 blocks per set, and Vanessa Del Real averages a team-best 3.34 digs per set.
Akron went 13-16 last season, and it was picked to finish ninth in the MAC Preseason Coaches Poll.
YSU is 10-47 all-time against Akron, but the Zips have a narrow 4-3 edge in the last seven meetings. Youngstown State won 3-0 at James A. Rhodes Arena in 2022, and the Penguins have won two of the last three encounters in Akron. The Zips won 3-1 in Beeghly Center last season.

Kent State

Kent State is 1-7 this season, and it has dropped four straight decisions heading into Thursday's home opener against Cleveland State. The Golden Flashes beat NJIT on Sept. 6 for their first win of 2024, and a five-set loss to Sacred Heart began the four-match skid. Sacred Heart is a common opponent with YSU, and the Pioneers swept the Penguins in the season opener.
The Golden Flashes are fourth in the Mid-American Conference with 15 digs per set, and Greta Bolognini paces the team individually with 3.82 per set. Logan Henderson and Alexandria Connatser are both averaging nearly 0.9 blocks per set to provide defense at the net. Offensively, Henderson is averaging a team-high 2.30 kills per set, and Mackenzie McGuire is averaging 2.24 kills. Henderson was a MAC All-Freshman Team selection in 2023, and McGuire ranked fifth in the conference in kills per set.
The Golden Flashes posted a 6-23 record last season, and they were picked to finish 12th in the MAC Preseason Coaches Poll. There are 12 newcomers on this year's squad, including four who had previous experience at the Division I level.
Youngstown State is 5-22 all-time against Kent State, and they snapped a five-match skid against the Golden Flashes with a 3-1 victory at the M.A.C. Center in 2023. That was the Penguins' first-ever road victory over Kent State. YSU last home win over the Golden Flashes came in 2013.

Up Next

Youngstown State will play three more matches in Beeghly Center next week as it continues its four-match homestand. The Penguins will conclude its non-conference schedule on Tuesday against Mercyhurst, and their first Horizon League series will be against Green Bay next Friday and Saturday.