Indianapolis, Ind. — Youngstown State's volleyball team followed Friday night's five-set victory at IU Indy with an encore performance on Saturday afternoon by beating the Jaguars 3-1 at The Jungle. The set scores were 25-20, 24-26, 25-17, 25-23.
The Penguins swept a road trip for the first time since 2022 and improved their position in the Horizon League standings at the midway point of the conference schedule. With their two wins over IU Indy, Youngstown State is 9-11 overall and 4-5 in conference play. IU Indy is now 11-10 overall and 5-4 against the circuit.
Youngstown State hit .316 in Friday's victory, and it hit .311 on Saturday in following a similar blueprint for success. Gabriela Machin was the top attacker in Saturday's win with 18 kills on 32 attempts, while Layne Graffice posted 15 kills. Abbie Householder registered a double-double with 14 kills and 10 digs, and setter Kameron Blizniak had 10 digs to complement 44 assists. Blizniak had 101 assists in the two victories in Indianapolis.
Elle Patterson finished with 18 kills for IU Indy, which had three more kills but also committed 17 more attack errors than the Penguins.
Youngstown State went on a 6-0 run behind Graffice's serve and three Householder kills in the first set to take a 13-8 lead, and the margin was at least four the rest of the set. The second set was close throughout with 19 ties and 10 lead changes, and neither team led by more than one until the Jaguars went ahead 13-11. YSU led 22-20 late but had two serving errors and two reception errors down the stretch as IU Indy rallied for a 26-24 win.
Graffice posted five kills, and IU Indy had 10 of its attack errors in the third set as YSU pulled away with an 8-1 run midway through the set for a 25-17 victory. The Penguins then hit .326 and got six kills apiece from Machin and Graffice in the fourth set to finish the match. A 10-4 run gave YSU an 18-13 lead, and the Penguins held off an IU Indy charge late. The Jaguars got within 23-22 before Machin's kill gave YSU two match-point opportunities, and IU Indy fought off one before a Graffice kill completed the victory.
Youngstown State will begin the second half of Horizon League play next week with a pair of home matches against Milwaukee. Both teams are 4-5 in conference play heading into the weekend at Zidian Family Arena at Beeghly Center. The Penguins and Panthers will play at 4 p.m. on Friday, and they'll finish the weekend with a match at 11 a.m. on Saturday.
