Youngstown, Ohio — Youngstown State's volleyball team will start the second half of its Horizon League schedule this weekend with two matches against Milwaukee that could have significant implications in the conference standings. The Penguins and Panthers will begin their series at Zidian Family Arena at Beeghly Center on Friday at 4 p.m., and they'll play again on Saturday at 11 a.m.

Friday's match will be streamed live on ESPN+, and live stats for both matches will be available through links on YSUsports.com.

Saturday is YSU's homecoming football game, and fans coming to Saturday's match must follow the parking guidelines and prices for YSU football game days. Visit the Youngstown State Football Gameday page for more information. Fans are encouraged to park on the M-30 deck and enjoy the walk through campus to Beeghly Center.

Parking information and campus map

Gameday Guide | Visitors Guide | Promotional Schedule | YSU Mobile App - iOS - Android

Match 1 vs. Milwaukee

• When: Friday, Oct. 24 | 4 p.m.
• Where: Zidian Family Arena at Beeghly Center | Youngstown, Ohio
• Promotions: Dress for Halloween! There will be a costume contest for YSU student-athletes for Guin Cup points. The first 50 YSU students will receive a free T-shirt and pizza.
• Watch: ESPN+ | International Stream
• Stats: SIDEARM Stats
• Social: X | Instagram | Facebook

Match 2 vs. Milwaukee

• When: Saturday, Oct. 25 | 11 a.m.
• Where: Zidian Family Arena at Beeghly Center | Youngstown, Ohio
• Promotion: Homecoming on campus.
• Stats: SIDEARM Stats
• Social: X | Instagram | Facebook
• Parking information and campus map

A Glimpse at the Guins

• Youngstown State is playing at home for the first time since Oct. 5 and is coming off of two road victories at IU Indy last weekend. The Penguins are 9-11 overall and 4-5 in Horizon League matches, and they are tied with Milwaukee for sixth place in the conference standings. With only the top six teams at the end of the regular season qualifying for the league tournament, both teams are tied for sixth and one win out of fourth place with nine regular-season matches remaining.
• YSU has quality wins on its resume this month as it continues to show improvement. The Penguins handed Northern Kentucky its only loss so far in Horizon League play the last time they played on their home court on Oct. 4, and YSU is coming off two impressive road wins at IU Indy. Before their trip to Indianapolis, the Penguins pushed Wright State to five sets before falling in Dayton.
• Youngstown State has already surpassed its conference win total from 2024, and it has matched its overall win total.
• YSU will play six of its final nine matches of the regular season at home, and the Penguins have already played four of the five teams in the standings who have a winning record.
• Freshman Kameron Blizniak was named an Under Armour Horizon League Player of the Week on Monday for her role in YSU's two wins at IU Indy. She averaged 11.22 assists per set as the Penguins posted a .314 attack percentage against the Jaguars, which was 58 points higher than any other conference team last week. Blizniak is the first freshman to win the league's weekly award this season, and she is the first Penguin setter to claim it since Val Jeffery in 2014. Blizniak joins teammate Gabriela Machin as a 2025 winner, giving YSU two different winners for the first time since the 2017 campaign.
• Blizniak is one of 10 newcomers on the roster this season, and 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. Abbie Householder, Gabriela Machin, Julia Sell and Maria Insana are the only players who have been with the program more than two years.
• The Penguins have started at least four newcomers in every match, and they have started five newcomers 13 times. Blizniak has started every match at setter, Layne Graffice or Presley Stokes has started every match at outside hitter, and Brie Habeeb has started at libero 16 times.
• While the newcomers have brought an influx of talent, 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 .256 this season. Householder ranks fourth in program history in career kills, and she is 11th in career digs. Householder is one of 10 active Division I players with more than 1,000 career kills and 1,000 career digs, and she has the most career digs among the 86 players who have recorded at least 1,000 kills.
• Junior Gabriela Machin is having the best season of her career offensively, averaging 3.05 kills on a .329 hitting percentage. She ranks fourth in the conference in hitting percentage, and she is 10th in kills per set.
• Youngstown State led the Horizon League with a .231 hitting percentage during non-conference play, and they are hitting .232 in conference matches. That is a significant improvement from last season when the Penguins hit .165.

Upcoming Milestones

• Kameron Blizniak is 16 assists away from 700 this season. Only six freshmen in program history have recorded 700 assists.
• Layne Graffice needs 26 kills to reach 200 this season.
• Brie Habeeb needs 12 digs to reach 300 this season. Only six YSU freshmen have reached 300 digs.
• Abbie Householder needs 41 digs to become the fifth Penguin to reach 1,200 career digs.
• Maria Insana needs 26 digs to reach 500 for her career.
• Taya Nordmann is closing in on 200 kills in her career, needing five to reach the milestone.

Horizon League Individual Leaders (Top 10)

• Kameron Blizniak - 6th in assists per set (8.44)
• Brie Habeeb - 8th in digs per set (3.74)
• Abbie Householder - 2nd in points per set (4.42); 3rd in kills per set (3.90); 8th in aces per set (0.28); 10th in hitting percentage (.256)
• Gabriela Machin - 4th in hitting percentage (.329); 10th in kills per set (3.05)
• Taya Nordmann - 6th in blocks per set (0.96)

Quick Facts & Preseason Notes

Recapping Last Week

Results

YSU scores are listed first

Oct. 24 at IU Indy » W, 3-2 (25-23, 23-25, 26-24, 19-25, 15-11) | Box Score | Recap
Oct. 25 at IU Indy » W, 3-1 (25-20, 24-26, 25-17, 25-23) | Box Score | Recap

Notes

• The Penguins hit a blistering .314 last week, which was 58 points better than any other team in the Horizon League. Going into the weekend, opponents were hitting just .205 against IU Indy, and only three teams had hit above .300 against the Jaguars all season. YSU hit better than .200 in all nine sets at The Jungle and topped .300 six times.
• IU Indy had six more kills than the Penguins last week, but the Jaguars also committed 23 more attack errors.
• Youngstown State's offense ran through its pin-hitters, and all three had outstanding weekends. In nine sets, Abbie Householder registered 41 kills on 105 attempts, Layne Graffice posted 35 kills on 88 attempts, and Gabriela Machin had 31 kills on 60 swings. That trio combined to hit .336.
• The two matches were quite close on the scoreboard with 71 ties and 36 lead changes over the nine sets. Five sets were decided by two points.
• Kameron Blizniak orchestrated YSU's offense and was named a Horizon League Player of the Week for her role in the two victories. Blizniak averaged 11.22 assists per set while posting 101 total assists in Indianapolis. She added 10 digs on Saturday to record her 10th double-double of the season.
• Graffice posted two of the top three kill totals of her career last weekend. She had 20 kills while hitting .341 in Friday's five-set victory, and she followed with 15 kills on a .318 clip on Saturday.
• Izzy Henry remained in the starting lineup for both matches, and she has made four straight starts since making her debut on Oct. 4 against Northern Kentucky.
• Householder ranked fourth in the Horizon League last week averaging 4.56 kills per set, and she led the circuit with 41 total kills. Householder recorded 27 kills, the second-highest total of her career behind the 31 she had against NKU on Oct. 4, in Friday's five-set victory. She had 10 kills on Saturday to record her 15th double-double.
• Maria Insana served as the Penguins' primary libero last week and tallied 21 digs and eight assists. She, Brie Habeeb and Graffice each averaged more than 2.3 digs per set.
• Machin had the league's second-highest attack percentage at .450, and she recorded a career-high 18 kills in Saturday's victory. Machin has reached double digits in kills in 17 of YSU's 20 matches this season, and an impressive 44.6% of her attempts have ended in kills.

Scouting the Panthers

Record: 4-18 overall; 3-4 in Horizon League play
Last Week: Lost 3-0 at Wright State; Won 3-0 at Wright State
Horizon League Standings: Tied for 6th
Horizon League Preseason Poll: 2nd of 10

Statistical Leaders

• Kills - Natalie Schmitz (2.77 per set)
• Assists - Josie Johnson (4.67 per set)
• Aces - Kati Goba (0.23 per set)
• Digs - Kara Erdmann (4.58 per set)
• Blocks - Josie Noble (0.96 per set)

Up Next

Youngstown State will play its final three road matches of the regular season during a busy next week. The Penguins will play at Robert Morris at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, and they'll play at Oakland on Friday and Saturday.