Youngstown, Ohio — Behind a career-high 31 kills from Abbie Householder, Youngstown State's volleyball team completed an emotional reverse sweep of Northern Kentucky on Saturday afternoon at Zidian Family Arena at Beeghly Center. The set scores were 21-25, 20-25, 25-21, 25-23, 16-14.
Householder's 31 kills were the most of her career and tied for the fourth most in a match in program history. She is just the fourth Penguin ever to post more than 30 kills in a match, and her 31 kills are tied for the ninth most by any Division I player this season.
Youngstown State handed NKU its first loss in Horizon League play this season, and it topped the Norse for the first time in the series' history. Northern Kentucky had won the first 20 meetings since joining the conference in 2015.
Householder's 31 kills came on 63 attempts, which are the second-fewest by a Penguin in a 30-kill effort since at least 2001. Her .460 attack percentage is the best in a 30-kill match in the rally-scoring era, and it trails only Amy Hermann's .549 at Western Illinois in sideout scoring on Oct. 31, 1998.
Householder saved her best for last with 23 kills and just one error over 38 attempts, a .579 attack percentage, over the final three sets.
While the senior outside hitter's performance will go in the record books, Householder had plenty of help as the Penguins improved to 2-3 in Horizon League play. Gabriela Machin finished with 16 kills on 38 attempts, and Layne Graffice posted 10 kills. Householder added 12 digs for a double-double, and Graffice finished with 18.
Brie Habeeb led the defense with 24 digs, and she had one reception error in 35 targets. The Penguins had three receiving errors in 102 attempts, and two of those were team errors off the net. Kameron Blizniak contributed 16 digs to go along with 58 assists.
Sydney Bray had 23 kills, while Allison Risley posted 20 for Northern Kentucky. The Norse are now 8-8 overall and 4-1 in Horizon League play.
The Penguins were competitive against the Norse on Friday evening despite being swept, and they held a 20-18 lead in the first set. NKU scored five straight points out of a timeout to flip the deficit into a 23-20 lead, and the Norse went on to take the opening set 25-21. A 6-2 run midway through the second set allowed NKU to take an 18-14 advantage, and the Norse protected the lead to pull away for a 25-20 win.
In the third, Householder took the match over. She posted nine kills on 11 attempts in the set, her ninth termination giving the Penguins a 23-19 lead. The teams traded points over the next four rallies, and Machin's kill on set point allowed YSU to send the match to the fourth.
Householder delivered 10 kills in the fourth set, including six in the final 10 points of the set. NKU held a 20-16 lead following a kill by Risley before a block by Graffice and Taya Nordmann sparked a four-point run for the Penguins. With NKU ahead 21-20, Householder ripped three straight kills to give YSU a 23-21 lead, and her 10th of the set put the Penguins up 24-22. YSU had a serving error to give Northern Kentucky a sideout, and an NKU attack error pushed the game to the fifth set.
YSU's only deficit in the deciding set was 1-0, and a kill by Householder started a 3-0 run for YSU. The Penguins extended their lead to 8-4 following back-to-back blocks by Machin and Izzy Henry, and they remained ahead until NKU fought off two match points to tie the score at 14. Householder's 31st kill put Youngstown State ahead 15-14, and she served when Machin connected for a kill on the winning point.
Youngstown State will play its next four matches on the road, starting with a pair of contests at Wright State next week.
