Youngstown, Ohio — Youngstown State's volleyball team will begin October with three consecutive Horizon League road matches this week. The Penguins will make the short trip to play Robert Morris on Tuesday evening, and they'll play a two-match series at Northern Kentucky on Friday and Saturday.

Live stats will be available for all three matches through links on the YSU volleyball schedule. However, only Tuesday's match will have a live broadcast. In fact, Tuesday is one of just two out of Youngstown State's nine Horizon League road contests that will be shown on ESPN+.

Recapping Last Week

Youngstown State went 1-2 last week and 2-2 overall during its four-match homestand that began on Sept. 20. The Penguins had back-to-back sweeps of Kent State and Mercyhurst to begin the home stretch, and they fell 3-0 and 3-1 to Green Bay this past Friday and Saturday to open Horizon League play.

Match 1: Tuesday, Sept. 24 vs. Mercyhurst: W, 3-0 (25-12, 25-20, 25-14) | Recap | Box Score
Match 2: Friday, Sept. 27 vs. Green Bay: L, 0-3 (25-19, 25-22, 25-22) | Recap | Box Score
Match 3: Saturday, Sept. 28 vs. Green Bay: L, 1-3 (25-22, 16-25, 25-19, 25-13) | Recap | Box Score

Individual Player Notes

• Kiyah Franklin recorded her 250th career kill in YSU's sweep of Mercyhurst on Sept. 24. The fourth-year senior is averaging a career-high 2.08 kills per set this season.
• Bianca Giglio made her first start as a Penguin in Saturday's match against Green Bay. The junior transfer from Marshall tied previous season highs with 10 kills and 40 attempts, and she had an ace for her fourth straight match.
• Abbie Householder averaged a Horizon League-best 5.05 points per set last week, and she also ranked among the conference's leaders with 4.30 kills (second) and 0.60 aces (fourth) per set. She is averaging career-bests of 3.90 kills, 0.41 aces, 3.22 digs and 0.49 blocks per set.
• Gabriela Machin came off the bench to post 11 kills in 25 attempts and hit .400 over the final three sets against Green Bay on Saturday. It was the first time she reached double digits in kills since the Radford match on Sept. 6. Machin is averaging 2.29 kills per set this season.
• Dayan Malave had a career-high seven digs in Friday's three-setter against Green Bay, and she had her 300th kill as a Penguin a day later. The middle blocker had a season-best six blocks against Mercyhurst earlier in the week. Malave is averaging a career-high 1.39 kills per set this season.
• Isabel Schaefbauer averaged 10.50 assists per set last week, which was the second-best mark in the conference. She had double-doubles in both matches against Green Bay with 31 assists and 12 digs on Friday and 39 assists and 18 digs on Saturday. Schaefbauer is averaging career highs of 9.39 assists, 3.33 digs, 0.49 blocks and 0.37 kills per set.
• Julia Sell surpassed 100 career kills last week in the win over Mercyhurst, and she notched her 200th career block on Friday against Green Bay.
• Nyia Setla averaged 4.10 digs per set last week, which was the ninth-best pace in the conference. She also matched Householder with 0.60 aces per set for the fourth-best mark. Setla leads the Penguins with 4.43 digs per set this season.

A Glimpse at the Guins

Horizon League Individual Leaders

• Kelsey Cooper - 6th in blocks per set (0.84)
• Abbie Householder - 2nd in points per set (4.58), 3rd in kills per set (3.90), 3rd in aces per set (0.41), 14th in digs per set (3.22), 19th in hitting percentage (.207)
• Dayan Malave - 8th in hitting percentage (.254), 14th in blocks per set (0.68)
• Teagan Ng - 13th in aces per set (0.33), 22nd in points per set (2.63), 24th in kills per set (2.21)
• Isabel Schaefbauer - 3rd in assists per set (9.39), 13th in digs per set (3.33)
• Julia Sell - 7th in blocks per set (0.83)
• Nyia Setla - 8th in digs per set (4.43), 11th in aces per set (0.35)

Upcoming Milestones

• Abbie Householder is 24 kills away from 700 in her career. She's also just 10 digs from 750 and 12 blocks from 100 in her career.
• Maria Insana needs eight digs to reach 250 in her career.
• Gabriela Machin is 15 kills shy of 200 in her career.
• Isabel Schaefbauer needs 23 assists to reach 2,000 in her career. She is three assists shy of 1,600 as a Penguin. Schaefbauer is also just 10 digs away from 750 in her career.
• Nyia Setla needs 54 digs to reach 2,500 in her career.

News & Notes

• Setla ranks second nationally in career digs: Fifth-year senior Nyia Setla has the second-most career digs among all active volleyball players in the country, regardless of division. She has 2,446 over her career, which includes four seasons at Division II West Liberty and the 2024 campaign at Youngstown State. Only Alli Wiese at Division II Nebraska-Kearney is ahead of Setla with 2,488 digs in her career. The next closest player currently at the Division I level is Chattanooga's Paige Gallentine, who enters this week with 2,367 career digs.
• Householder stepping up: Junior Abbie Householder is averaging career highs in kills (3.90), aces (0.41), digs (3.22) and blocks (0.49) per set over the first five weeks of her junior campaign. She has recorded six double-doubles, including two to start Horizon League play last week. She had 13 kills and 12 digs in the three-setter on Friday, and she followed that with 22 kills and 12 digs on Saturday. Earlier this season against LIU on Sept. 1, she became just the third Penguin since 2007 to have at least 20 kills and 20 digs in the same match as she finished with 22 kills and 26 digs. Householder ranks among the top three players in the Horizon League in points, kills and aces per set.
• Penguins are strong defensively: Youngstown State's defense has been a highlight so far this season. Entering the sixth week of 2024, the Penguins lead the conference in opponent hitting percentage (.183), and digs per set (17.39), and they are third in opponent kills per set (12.08). Nationally, Youngstown State ranks 13th in digs. The Penguins have averaged more than 15 digs per set just once since the beginning of 25-point rally-scoring format in 2008, and YSU was sixth in the conference in 2023 with 15.23 digs per set. Newcomer Nyia Setla leads the Penguins with 4.43 digs per set, Isabel Schaefbauer averages 3.33 digs, and Abbie Householder averages 3.22. Youngstown State's serve receive has also shown an uptick, improving from .902 in 2023 to .922 in 2024.
• 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

Robert Morris

• Robert Morris is 6-7 this season, and the Colonials began Horizon League play by splitting a two-match series against Purdue Fort Wayne over the weekend. The Colonials swept the Mastodons 3-1 on Friday, and PFW responded with a 3-1 victory on Saturday. RMU has won three of its last four matches, which includes a 3-0 win over Canisius and a 3-1 victory over Central Michigan.
• RMU ranks second in the Horizon League with 2.34 blocks per set, and it is strong in both aspects of serving. The Colonials allow just 1.16 aces per set, which is the second-best mark in the conference, and they are third in the league with 1.73 aces per set offensively. RMU ranks second behind Youngstown State in the conference with 16.57 digs per set.
• RMU has two of the top four individual blockers in the conference as Azra Eric leads the Horizon League with 1.29 blocks per set, and Tatum Otolski is fourth with 0.93 per set. Jaidan Hockman ranks fifth in the circuit with 4.67 digs per set, and Jocelyn Jourdan leads RMU in kills with 2.69 per set.

Northern Kentucky

• NKU is 5-8 this season following a split against Cleveland State to start Horizon League play. The Vikings won the opener 3-2 on Friday, and NKU won 3-1 on Saturday in Cleveland. Like RMU, the Norse have won three of their last four matches with victories over Xavier and Miami (Ohio) preceding the start of conference play.
• NKU ranks third in the Horizon League with 16.00 digs per set, and the Norse are fourth in both kills (12.12) and assists per set (11.54). NKU is ninth in the league in blocks per set, and it averages a league-low 1.28 aces per set.
• Joy Banks leads NKU and ranks fifth in the Horizon League with 3.40 kills per set. Defensively, Lucy Cluxton averages 4.76 digs per set, which ranks fourth in the league, and Allie Siefke's 0.82 blocks per set are the eighth-best pace in the circuit.

Up Next

• Youngstown State will begin another four-match homestand next week as Wright State visits Beeghly Center on Oct. 11-12. The stretch in Zidian Family Arena will continue on Oct. 18-19 against IU Indy.