Youngstown State's volleyball team will begin its 24th season of Horizon League play by hosting Green Bay for a pair of matches this weekend in Zidian Family Arena at Beeghly Center. The Penguins and Phoenix will play Friday at 6 p.m., and they'll compete again on Saturday at 2 p.m.

Both matches will be streamed live on ESPN+, and live stats will be available through links on the volleyball schedule on YSUsports.com and the program's social media platforms.

The Horizon League's new scheduling parameters have teams playing consecutive matches against opponents on weekends to reduce travel. Unlike past seasons, YSU will not make the trip to Green Bay and will play the Phoenix twice in Youngstown. The only opponent the Penguins have a home-and-home with is Robert Morris.

Youngstown State went 6-6 during the non-conference portion of its schedule, and it has won four of its last six matches. The last five contests have each been sweeps, and YSU has been on the desirable end of two 3-0 decisions to open its home slate. The Penguins earned their first sweep of Kent State in 43 years in the Beeghly Center opener last Friday, and they followed that with a 3-0 victory over Mercyhurst on Tuesday. It was the first time that YSU had consecutive home matches result in 3-0 wins since 2000.

Fan Information

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• There is free admission for all matches at Beeghly Center in 2024.
• Saturday's match will be Alumni Day, and former players in attendance will be recognized

Recapping Recent Matches

Going back to last Thursday's match against Akron, the Penguins are 2-1 in their last three contests and enter the Green Bay series having won their last two matches. Youngstown State fell 3-0 at Akron on Sept. 19, but it bounced back to defeat Kent State and Mercyhurst by 3-0 sweeps on Friday and Tuesday, respectively. It was YSU's first-ever 3-0 win over the Golden Flashes and its first sweep of the Northeast Ohio foe since 1981.

Against Mercyhurst, a school from Erie, Pa., in its first season at the Division I level, the Penguins held the Lakers to 20 kills in another 3-0 win. It was the first time since 2000 that YSU had back-to-back home matches that resulted in 3-0 victories.

The Penguins did not allow Kent State or Mercyhurst to score more than 20 points, and they allowed fewer than 15 points in four of the six sets. The Golden Flashes hit negative-.010 with 23 kills and 24 errors in 97 attempts, and the Lakers hit negative-0.11 with 20 kills and 21 errors in 92 attempts.

Match 1: Thursday, Sept. 19 at Akron: L, 0-3 (25-18, 25-21, 25-23) | Recap | Box Score
Match 2: Friday, Sept. 20 vs. Kent State: W, 3-0 (25-20, 25-12, 25-13) | Recap | Box Score
Match 3: Tuesday, Sept. 24 vs. Mercyhurst: W, 3-0 (25-12, 25-20, 25-14) | Recap | Box Score

Individual Player Notes

• Kiyah Franklin recorded her 250th career kill in YSU's sweep of Mercyhurst on Tuesday. The fourth-year senior is averaging a career-high 2.12 kills per set this season.
• Abbie Householder went over 700 career digs with her nine-dig night at Akron on Sept. 19. Householder enters this week with 716 career digs and 641 career kills. For the season, the junior is averaging career-bests of 3.71 kills, 0.40 aces, 3.19 digs and 0.52 blocks per set.
• Dayan Malave recorded her 200th career block as a Penguin in YSU's sweep of Mercyhurst on Tuesday. The fifth-year senior transfer posted six blocks in the win over the Lakers, and she has 202 in her career. Malave is averaging a career-high 1.96 points per set, and she is seven kills shy of 300 in her YSU career. She began her collegiate career at Iowa Western Community College.
• Teagan Ng averaged 2.67 kills per set over her last three matches, and she continues to lead all Horizon League freshmen this season with 2.26 kills per set.
• After having 19 assists against Akron, Isabel Schaefbauer registered 64 assists over six sets in sweeps of Kent State and Mercyhurst. She registered 29  as the Penguins hit a season-high .292 against Kent State last Friday, and she had 35 assists as YSU hit .282 versus the Lakers. The 35 assists were her highest total in a three-set match this season. The fifth-year senior also went over 1,500 caereer assists as a Penguin against the Lakers. Schaefbauer is averaging career highs of 9.29 assists, 3.17 digs, 0.45 blocks and 0.31 kills per set this season.
• Julia Sell surpassed 100 career kills last week in the win over Mercyhurst, and she enters this week needing two blocks to reach 200. In the victories over Kent State and Mercyhurst at Beeghly Center, Sell had 13 kills with just one error in 18 attempts for a .667 attack percentage. The junior middle blocker has 45 kills this season after having 60 in her first two seasons combined. She has already set career highs for kills and attempts in a season.
• Nyia Setla had 33 digs over six sets against Akron and Kent State last week, and she followed that up with six digs in three sets versus Mercyhurst on Tuesday. Setla is averaging 4.33 digs per set this season, which would be the fourth-best single-season average by a Penguin in the current scoring format.

A Glimpse at the Guins

Horizon League Individual Leaders

• Kelsey Cooper - 10th in blocks per set (0.81), 11th in hitting gpercentage (.225)
• Kiyah Franklin - 25th in kills per set (2.12)
• Abbie Householder - 3rd in points per set (4.42), 4th in kills per set (3.71), 6th in aces per set (0.40), 13th in digs per set (3.19), 21st in hitting percentage (.205)
• Dayan Malave - 8th in hitting percentage (.264), 11th in blocks per set (0.75)
• Teagan Ng - 11th in aces per set (0.36), 21st in points per set (2.72), 24th in kills per set (2.26)
• Isabel Schaefbauer - 3rd in assists per set (9.29), 14th in digs per set (3.17)
• Julia Sell - 7th in blocks per set (0.83)
• Nyia Setla - 7th in digs per set (4.33), 15th in aces per set (0.33)

Upcoming Milestones

• Abbie Householder needs 14 blocks to reach 100 in her career and 34 digs to reach 750.
• Maria Insana is 20 digs shy of 250 in her career.
• Gabriela Machin needs 27 kills to reach 200 in her career.
• Dayan Malave is seven kills shy of 300 as a Penguin.
• Isabel Schaefbauer enters the week needing 93 assists to reach 2,000 in her career.
• Julia Sell needs two blocks to reach 200 in her career.
• Nyia Setla is four aces away from 150 in her collegiate career.

Notes

• 2-0 in a Refreshed Beeghly Center: Last Friday was the competition debut of the newly named Zidian Family Arena at Beeghly Center, and YSU is 2-0 in the new confines. Youngstown State recorded sweeps in consecutive home matches for the first time since 2000, outscoring Kent State and Mercyhurst a combined 150-91. YSU will be going for its first win in Youngstown over Green Bay since 2014. Youngstown State opened the season with a 10-match road stretch, which was a change of pace for the program. 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. The Penguins were on the road as renovations in their home arena were finished.
• New Sights and Sounds in Beeghly: 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.
• Strong Defensively in Non-League Play: Youngstown State's defense was a highlight during the non-conference portion of its schedule. Entering league play, the Penguins lead the conference in opponent hitting percentage (.176), and digs per set (17.05), and they are third in opponent kills per set (11.79). Nationally, Youngstown State ranks 16th in digs per set and 73rd in opponent hitting percentage. 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, Abbie Householder averages 3.19 digs, and Isabel Schaefbauer averages 3.17 digs. Youngstown State's serve receive has also shown an uptick, improving from .902 in 2023 to .923 in 2024.
• Householder Stepping Up: Junior Abbie Householder is averaging career highs in kills (3.71), aces (0.40), digs (3.19) and blocks (0.52) per set over the first dozen 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 13 in points (third), kills (fourth), aces (sixth) and digs (13th) per set.
• 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 Green Bay

• Green Bay went 3-9 during non-conference play, and the Phoenix are looking to bounce back from three losses at the Capital Credit Union Classic that they hosted last week. Green Bay fell 3-0 to No. 17 Minnesota and North Dakota, and it lost 3-2 to St. Thomas. The week prior, the Phoenix beat a Central Michigan squad that is 9-3, and it beat EKU, which swept YSU on Sept. 7. Green Bay was picked to finish fourth in the Horizon League preseason poll.
• Entering league play, Green Bay ranks last in the conference with 11.00 kills and 10.15 assists per set. The Phoenix rank fifth in the circuit with 1.43 aces per set.
• Individually, three Green Bay players rank among the top 25 in the Horizon League in kills per set. Senior outside hitter Cora Behnke leads the Phoenix and ranks ninth in the conference with 2.82 kills per set. Katie Schultz ranks 16th with 2.54 kills per set, and Danilynn Schell is 23rd with 2.30.

Up Next

• Youngstown State will begin its October slate with three conference road matches next week. The Penguins will make the short trip to Robert Morris for a match on Tuesday at 6 p.m., and they'll play at Northern Kentucky next Friday and Saturday.