Youngstown State's volleyball team will start a stretch of four consecutive Horizon League road matches this Friday at Wright State. The Penguins and Raiders will play twice at C.J. McLin Gymnasium in Dayton, Ohio, with the first match at 6 p.m. on Friday and the second at 2 p.m. on Saturday.

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

Match 1 at Wright State

• When: Friday, Oct. 10 | 6 p.m.
• Where: C.J. McLin Gymnasium | Dayton, Ohio
• Watch: ESPN+
• Stats: SIDEARM Stats
• Social: X | Instagram | Facebook

Match 2 at Wright State

• When: Saturday, Oct. 11 | 2 p.m.
• Where: C.J. McLin Gymnasium | Dayton, Ohio
• Stats: SIDEARM Stats
• Social: X | Instagram | Facebook

A Glimpse at the Guins

• Youngstown State enters this week looking to build on two big home wins last week. The Penguins handed two teams their first Horizon League loss, sweeping Robert Morris last Tuesday and rallying to beat NKU 3-2 on Saturday for their first win ever over the Norse.

• It was an important two-win week for the Penguins in the Horizon League standings as they prepare for the challenging road stretch. YSU is one game out of a tie for third place as the third week of conference play begins.

• YSU is 7-9 overall and 2-3 in conference play, which is ahead of last season's pace when the Penguins went 9-21 overall and 3-15 against league opponents in Riley Jarrett's first season.
• YSU graduate assistant coach Sam Ott will make her return to C.J. McLin Gymnasium, where she starred for the Raiders for the previous five seasons. She helped lead Wright State to 114 victories, four Horizon League regular-season titles, and three NCAA Tournament appearances. Ott finished her career with 1,200 kills, 111 aces, 974 digs, and 118 blocks, and she was an All-Horizon League First Team selection in 2024.
• Abbie Householder led the Horizon League in kills, aces and points per set last week, and she is coming off a 31-kill performance in YSU's win over Northern Kentucky. Householder has more than 1,100 career kills and digs, and she ranks among the top four players in the conference this season in points and kills per set.
• Gabriela Machin is having her best season on the right side, and she ranks among the top eight players in the Horizon League in hitting percentage and kills per set. She averaged 4.09 kills per set while hitting .453 in three matches last week.
• YSU's roster will look very different from when the Penguins and Raiders played last season. The Penguins have started at least four newcomers in every match, and there are 10 newcomers overall on the roster.
• 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 .228 overall. YSU has hit .186 or better in 14 of its first 16 matches and topped .200 in 10. The Penguins hit .165 last season and surpassed .200 six times.

Upcoming Milestones

• Bianca Giglio needs two digs to collect 400 in her career.
• Brie Habeeb is 11 digs shy of 250. She would become the 11th Penguin to reach 250 in her freshman season.
• Abbie Householder is 10 blocks away from 150 in her career.
• Maria Insana needs six digs to reach 450 in her career.
• Gabriela Machin needs 11 kills to reach 500 in her career.
• Taya Nordmann is 11 blocks shy of 200 for her career.

Horizon League Individual Leaders (Top 10)

• Kameron Blizniak - 6th in assists per set (8.09); 10th in aces per set (0.27)
• Brie Habeeb - 7th in digs per set (3.98)
• Abbie Householder - 2nd in points per set (4.31); 4th in kills per set (3.78); 8th in aces per set (0.28); 9th in hitting percentage (.255)
• Niyah Lester - 9th in blocks per set (0.90)
• Taya Nordmann - 6th in blocks per set (0.96); 8th in kills per set (3.13); 9th in aces per set (0.27)
• Gabriela Machin - 4th in hitting percentage (.341); 8th in kills per set (3.13); 9th in points per set (3.60)

Quick Facts & Preseason Notes

Recapping Last Week

Results

YSU scores are listed first

• Sept. 30 vs. Robert Morris » W, 3-0 (25-21, 25-19, 25-17) | Box Score | Recap
• Oct. 3 vs. Northern Kentucky » L, 0-3 (23-25, 20-25, 20-25) | Box Score | Recap
• Oct. 4 vs. Northern Kentucky » W, 3-2 (21-25, 20-25, 25-21, 25-23, 16-14) | Box Score | Recap

Notes

• After starting Horizon League play with two losses at Green Bay, the Penguins picked up two key victories last week over teams that were unbeaten at the time. Youngstown State swept Robert Morris on Sept. 30, and it rallied from a two-set deficit to top Northern Kentucky 3-2 on Oct. 4. That was YSU's first win in school history over the Norse, who had won the first 20 meetings in the all-time series.
• Youngstown State hit an impressive .316 in its sweep of the Colonials, and the Penguins hit .263 in the victory over the Norse. YSU had season highs of 69 kills, 66 assists and 88 digs in the five-setter against NKU.
• Setter Kameron Blizniak surpassed 500 assists last week, and her 518 assists this season rank as the ninth-highest total in the country by a Division I freshman. Blizniak is the seventh freshman setter at YSU to surpass 500 assists, and she is the first since 2009.
• Layne Graffice recorded her sixth double-double of the season in Saturday's win, finishing with 10 kills and a career-best 18 digs against NKU.
• Brie Habeeb averaged a team-high 4.55 digs per set last week and increased her total to 239 digs for her freshman season. Only 10 Penguins have ever had at least 250 digs as a freshman.
• Izzy Henry made her collegiate debut in a big spot, coming in for the final two sets to play middle blocker in Saturday's win over NKU. She recorded three blocks in the fifth set.
• Householder led the conference in kills, aces and points per set last week, averaging 5.00 kills, 0.55 aces and 5.77 points. She delivered one of the top offensive performances in the conference this season, posting 31 kills in Saturday's comeback win over Northern Kentucky. That total is tied for the ninth-highest total by a Division I player this season, the most in a Horizon League match since 2023 and tied for the fourth-most in YSU history. She became the fourth Penguin ever to record at least 30 kills in a match. Over the final three sets of the reverse sweep, Householder powered the Penguins with 23 kills and just one error over 38 attempts for a .579 attack percentage.
• Householder also became the 15th Penguin to reach 1,100 career digs, and she is 14th all-time at YSU with 1,120 digs.
• Gabriela Machin registered her 200th kill of the season on match point in Saturday's win over Northern Kentucky. Her highest season total coming into 2025 was 152. Machin's attack percentages last week were .583, .542 and .316, and she hit .453 for the week. She had 45 kills on 86 attempts.
• Presley Stokes was a key part of YSU's win over RMU on Tuesday, posting 12 kills and 10 digs in her first home start. It was her second consecutive double-double.

Scouting the Raiders

Record: 10-6 overall; 4-1 Horizon League
Last Week: Lost 3-2 at Northern Kentucky; Won 3-1 at Cleveland State; Won 3-1 at Cleveland State
Horizon League Preseason Poll: 1st of 10

Statistical Leaders:

• Kills - Mya Ayro (3.89 per set)
• Assists - Lauren Yacobucci (9.19 per set)
• Aces - Katie Sowko (0.35 per set)
• Digs - Taygan Corstange (3.52 per set)
• Blocks - Reilly Zeguins (0.89 per set)

Up Next

Next week, Youngstown State will play two matches at IU Indianapolis. The Penguins and Jaguars will face off at 6 p.m. on Oct. 17 and 2 p.m. on Oct. 18, with both matches streaming on ESPN+.