Youngstown State's volleyball team will be faced with another challenging road trip this week, traveling to Indianapolis for two matches against IU Indy. Friday's match against the Jaguars at The Jungle will begin at 6 p.m., and Saturday's match will start at 2 p.m. Both matches will be streamed live on ESPN+, and live stats will be available through links on YSUsports.com.

Match 1 at IU Indy

• When: Friday, Oct. 17 | 6 p.m.
• Where: The Jungle | Indianapolis, Ind.
• Watch: ESPN+
• Stats: SIDEARM Stats
• Social: X | Instagram | Facebook

Match 2 at IU Indy

• When: Saturday, Oct. 18 | 2 p.m.
• Where: The Jungle | Indianapolis, Ind.
• Watch: ESPN+
• Stats: SIDEARM Stats
• Social: X | Instagram | Facebook

A Glimpse at the Guins

• Youngstown State is 7-11 overall and 2-5 in Horizon League play as the conference schedule reaches the halfway point after this weekend. The Penguins beat RMU and Northern Kentucky at home two weeks ago, and they dropped both matches at Wright State last week.
• The Penguins enter this weekend in a tie for seventh place in the conference standings, trailing Milwaukee by one game. Youngstown State will host the Panthers next weekend at Zidian Family Arena at Beeghly Center.
• YSU's roster will look very different from when the Penguins and Jaguars played last season. The Penguins have started at least four newcomers in every match, and  they have started five 13 times. Freshmen Kameron Blizniak and Brie Habeeb have started every match, and Layne Graffice or Presley Stokes has started each contest at outside hitter. Overall, there are 10 newcomers overall on the roster.
• While the newcomers have brought an influx of talent, senior Abbie Householder has continued her reputation as one of the top players in the Horizon League. She ranks among the top three individuals in the conference in points and kills per set, and she is hitting a career-best .253 this season. Householder became the fourth player in school history to reach 1,200 career kills last week at Wright State, and she is one of seven active Division I players with more than 1,000 career kills and 1,000 career digs.
• Junior Gabriela Machin is having the best season of her career offensively, averaging 3.00 kills on a .314 hitting percentage. She ranks fourth in the conference in hitting percentage, and she is 11th in kills per set.
• YSU has one of the youngest rosters in the country in 2025. The group of 17 student-athletes includes seven true freshmen, two redshirt freshmen and three sophomores. Householder, Machin, Julia Sell and Maria Insana are the only players who have been with the program more than two years.
• Youngstown State led the Horizon League with a .231 hitting percentage during nonconference play and is hitting .221overall. YSU has hit .186 or better in 15 of its first 18 matches and topped .200 in 11. The Penguins hit .165 last season and surpassed .200 six times.

Upcoming Milestones

• Kameron Blizniak needs 17 assists to reach 600 this season. Only six YSU freshmen have had 600 assists.
• Brie Habeeb needs 35 digs to reach 300 this season. Only six YSU freshmen have reached 300 digs.
• Taya Nordmann is four blocks shy of 200 in her career, and she is 15 kills away from 200.

Horizon League Individual Leaders (Top 10)

• Kameron Blizniak — 6th in assists per set (8.10)
• Brie Habeeb — 7th in digs per set (3.90)
• Abbie Householder — 2nd in points per set (4.33); 3rd in kills per set (3.82); 9th in aces per set (0.28)
• Niyah Lester — 9th in blocks per set (0.88)
• Gabriela Machin — 4th in hitting percentage (.314)
• Taya Nordmann — 6th in blocks per set (0.95)

Quick Facts & Preseason Notes

Recapping Last Week

Results

YSU scores are listed first

• Oct. 10 at Wright State — L, 0-3 (11-25, 13-25, 18-25) | Box Score | Recap
• Oct. 11 at Wright State — L, 2-3 (25-22, 17-25, 19-25, 25-18, 9-15) | Box Score | Recap

Notes

• While the Penguins ultimately left Dayton with two losses, they showed their growth in Saturday's five-set loss. The Penguins did not get higher than 18 points in a set on Friday, and they bounced back to push the league-leading Raiders to five sets on Saturday. Before Saturday's opening-set win, Wright State had swept the Penguins in 10 straight matches dating back to September 2019.
• Bianca Giglio made her first appearance in Horizon League play in Friday's match after missing five matches with a lower-body injury. The senior recorded her 200th career dig in the match.
• Layne Graffice was back in the starting lineup on Saturday, claiming a spot in the rotation for the first time in Horizon League play. Graffice averaged 2.43 kills on a .300 attack percentage while adding 2.57 digs per set last week.
• Izzy Henry made the first two starts of her career at middle blocker last week.
• Abbie Householder became the fourth Penguin in school history to reach 1,200 career kills last week. She averaged 4.13 kills per set in the two matches against Wright State, and she had 10 kills in the fourth set. 
• Gabriela Machin surpassed 500 career kills last week, bringing her total to 505. She has 216 this season after posting 289 combined in her first two seasons.
• Maria Insana was YSU's only sub in Saturday's five-set match against the Raiders.

Scouting the Jaguars

Record: 11-8 overall; 5-2 Horizon League
Last Week: Won 3-1 at Robert Morris; Won 3-2 at Robert Morris
Horizon League Standings: Tied for 3rd
Horizon League Preseason Poll: 5th of 10

Statistical Leaders:

• Kills - Jillian Tippmann (3.79 per set)
• Assists - Grace Purichia (10.82 per set)
• Aces - Laura Roeder (0.26 per set)
• Digs - Laura Roeder (4.29 per set)
• Blocks - Morgan Ostrowski (0.88 per set)

Up Next

Youngstown State will host Milwaukee for a pair of matches at Zidian Family Arena at Beeghly Center as part of Homecoming weekend on campus. The Penguins and Panthers will play on Oct. 24 at 4 p.m., and the match on Oct. 25 will start at 11 a.m. Youngstown State's football team will play at 2 p.m. on Oct. 25, and football gameday parking policies and prices will be in effect.