Youngstown State University
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Purdue Fort Wayne
Volleyball Faces High Stakes for Senior Week
11/12/2025 9:23:00 AM | Volleyball
Youngstown, Ohio — Youngstown State's volleyball team will conclude the 2025 regular season by hosting Purdue Fort Wayne with plenty at stake on Thursday and Friday. The Penguins and Mastodons will play at 6 p.m. on both days, and each match will be streamed live on ESPN+.
YSU will celebrate seniors Bianca Giglio, Abbie Householder and Julia Sell before Friday's match, and a win in either contest this week will ensure that Friday's match will not be their last. The Penguins need one victory to secure a spot in next week's Horizon League Volleyball Championship.
Match 1 vs. Purdue Fort Wayne
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- When: Thursday, Nov. 13 | 6 p.m.
- Where: Zidian Family Arena at Beeghly Center | Youngstown, Ohio
- Watch: ESPN+ | International Stream
- Stats: SIDEARM Stats
- Social: X | Instagram | Facebook
Match 2 vs. Purdue Fort Wayne
- When: Friday, Nov. 7 | 6 p.m.
- Where: Zidian Family Arena at Beeghly Center | Youngstown, Ohio
- Promotion: Senior Day starting at approximately 5:45 p.m.
- Watch: ESPN+ | International Stream
- Stats: SIDEARM Stats
- Social: X | Instagram | Facebook
A Glimpse at the Guins
Tournament Scenario: With two matches remaining in the regular season, seven teams are in the running for the six spots in the Horizon League Volleyball Championship. According to seeding scenarios distributed by the Horizon League earlier this week, Youngstown State can finish as high as the third seed or still be left out of the tournament. YSU is currently tied for fourth with Milwaukee with a 9-7 record. Wright State and IU Indy are tied for second at 11-5, Green Bay is sixth with an 8-8 mark, and Oakland is seventh at 7-9. The simplest path for the Penguins to clinch a tournament berth is to win at least once. YSU's highest seed ever in the Horizon League Volleyball Championship was fourth in 2014, and the Penguins have made the tournament just once since then (2022). Northern Kentucky has clinched the top seed and will host the championship on Nov. 21-23 in Highland Heights, Ky.
This Weekend's Matchups (HL Record)
Purdue Fort Wayne (1-15) at Youngstown State (9-7)
Green Bay (8-8) at Robert Morris (5-11)
Northern Kentucky (15-1) at IU Indy (11-5)
Milwaukee (9-7) at Cleveland State (4-12)
Oakland (7-9) at Wright State (11-5)
Senior Day Ahead: YSU will celebrate the careers of its three seniors before Friday's match against the Mastodons. Bianca Giglio is in her second year with the program as a transfer from Marshall, while Abbie Householder and Julia Sell have spent their entire collegiate careers as Penguins. Introductions of the student-athletes and their families will begin at approximately 5:45 p.m.
Breaking HL Wins Record: With two matches remaining, Youngstown State has already set a new school record for Horizon League victories with nine. The previous record was eight, which was set in 2022. The Penguins have won more than nine conference matches — including its time in the Ohio Valley Conference, the Mid-Continent Conference and the Horizon League — just once when it went 13-1 in 1999 in the Mid-Con. Regardless of the outcome of this week's matches, YSU will also at least tie its previous record for Horizon League winning percentage, which is currently .500 by the 2013 and 2014 teams. Including all matches, YSU is 14-13 and can secure its first winning season since 2014 with a pair of victories over Purdue Fort Wayne. The Penguins can also tie the school record for home victories if they can win twice this weekend. YSU is currently 8-4 on its home floor, with the eight wins being the most since 2000. The 1999 team went 10-0 at Beeghly Center.
Team Tidbits
- YSU is hitting .242 this season, which is the second-highest mark in school history and the best since hitting .269 in 1999. The Penguins have been even better in Horizon League matches with a .249 clip, which is 35 points better than the current record of .214 in 2022.
- The Penguins are averaging 12.88 kills per set, its highest rate since averaging 12.94 in 2014.
- YSU has handed Northern Kentucky its only loss in league play up to this point, and the Penguins are 7-2 over their last nine matches.
- Kameron Blizniak, Abbie Householder and Gabriela Machin have each been named an Under Armour Horizon League Player of the Week this season, giving YSU three honorees for the first time since 2014.
- Householder enters her final regular-season matches with career totals of 1,341 kills, 1,255 digs, 127 aces and 1,554.5 points. She ranks third on YSU's career charts in kills and digs, fourth in points and seventh in aces. Householder is one of two active Division I players with at least 1,300 career kills and 1,200 career digs (Keyana Cruse, Western Illinois).
- 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. Householder, 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 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. YSU has also started at least one transfer at middle blocker in every contest, and Taya Nordmann has made 24 consecutive starts.
- While the newcomers have brought an influx of talent, Householder and Machin have been two of the top pin hitters in the Horizon League. Householder, a six-rotation outside hitter, leads the conference in points per set while hitting a career-high .268 this season. Machin is having the best season of her career offensively, averaging 3.14 kills on a .333 hitting percentage. She is one of eight players in the country averaging at least 3.0 kills while also hitting at least .330. Machin ranks third in the conference in hitting percentage, and she is ninth in kills per set.
- The program got national publicity on Sept. 30 when Presley Stokes' kick save against Robert Morris was featured as the top play on SportsCenter. With YSU leading 12-9, Householder dug an attack in the middle back, and Stokes stuck out her left foot on a slide to allow Brie Habeeb to send a diving over pass to RMU's side. Stokes and Nordmann combined for a block to finish the point.
Upcoming Milestones
- Kameron Blizniak is 50 assists away from 1,000 this season. She would be the second Penguin since 25-point rally scoring was instituted in 2008 to record 1,000 in a season, joining Val Jeffery (three straight seasons from 2014-16). Blizniak would be the first freshman setter to reach 1,000 in the current format, the third overall and the first since 2002. Blizniak is also only nine digs shy of 250 this season.
- Layne Graffice is five kills away from reaching 250 this season. She ranks 10th on YSU's freshman list with her 245 kills, and only Paula Guershing (430) and Sam Brown (293) have reached 250 as freshmen in the current scoring format.
- Abbie Householder is 30 kills from moving into a tie for second place on YSU's career kills list. She has 1,341 entering this week, which is the most by any Penguin who has played in the rally-scoring era. Householder is also 29 points away from 500 this season. If she can get there, she'd be the first Penguin to score 500 points in a season twice.
- Taya Nordmann is closing in on 250 career blocks, needing 19.
YSU Career Kills List
- 1,408 — Vickie Robinson (1996-99)
- 1,371 — Amy Hermann (1994-98)
- 1,341 — Abbie Householder (2022-25)
YSU Career Digs List
- 1,495 — Jill Raslevich (1992-95)
- 1,315 — Nikki Thompson (2012-15)
- 1,255 — Abbie Householder (2022-25)
YSU Career Points List
- 1,784.5 — Vickie Robinson (1996-99)
- 1,724.5 — Ruth Boscaljon (2006-09)
- 1,653.5 — Amy Hermann (1994-98)
- 1,554.5 — Abbie Householder (2022-25)
Horizon League Individual Leaders
- Kameron Blizniak — 5th in assists per set (9.05)
- Brie Habeeb — 9th in digs per set (3.55)
- Abbie Householder — 1st in points per set (4.49); 2nd in kills per set (3.96); 5th in aces per set (0.30); 10th in hitting percentage (.268)
- Gabriela Machin — 3rd in attack percentage (.333); 9th in kills per set (3.14)
- Taya Nordmann — 6th in blocks per set (0.99); 9th in aces per set (0.26)
Recapping Last Week
Results
YSU scores are listed first
Nov. 6 vs. Cleveland State » W, 3-0 (25-12, 25-18, 25-19) | Box Score | Recap
Nov. 7 vs. Cleveland State » W, 3-2 (25-19, 25-18, 23-25, 19-25, 15-6) | Box Score | Recap
Notes
- Youngstown State hadn't beaten Cleveland State at Beeghly Center since 2013, and it topped the Vikings twice in as many days. CSU had won 10 of the last 11 meetings overall and was 18-2 dating back to 2015.
- With the two victories, YSU increased its Horizon League win total to nine, which is a school record.
- Cleveland State had five more kills over the two matches, but the Vikings also had 16 more attack errors, 17 more serving errors, 11 fewer aces and six more blocking errors.
- One of YSU's two set losses was 25-23, continuing a stretch of competitiveness even in setbacks. Going back to the win at IU Indy on Oct. 17, of the 11 sets that YSU lost, seven have been decided by two points.
- While middle blockers Izzy Henry and Taya Nordmann were held to 15 combined kills in the two matches, they each recorded five aces last week. Nordmann had two long scoring runs at the service line, including one to end the fifth set. She went to the line with YSU ahead 7-6 and served out the match. Nordmann had five aces and just one error in 35 serves for the week.
- Three Penguins averaged at least one block per set last week. Gabriela Machin averaged 1.25, Izzy Henry averaged 1.13, and Nordmann averaged one per set.
- Abbie Householder led YSU in kills and digs last week, averaging 3.63 kills and 3.38 digs per set.
- Layne Graffice had 15 kills and 15 digs in Friday's five-set victory to record her 10th double-double of the season.
Scouting the Mastodons
Record: 3-24 overall; 1-15 in Horizon League play
Last Week: Lost 3-0 vs. Wright State; Lost 3-1v s. Wright State
Horizon League Standings: 10th
Horizon League Preseason Poll: 7th of 10
Statistical Leaders
- Kills — Riley Rosneck (3.89 per set)
- Assists — Haiden Means (8.29 per set)
- Aces — Haiden Means (0.23 per set)
- Digs — Becky Barrett (4.70 per set)
- Blocks — Mya Plemons (1.02 per set)
Up Next
The 2025 Horizon League Volleyball Championship will be contested Nov. 21-23 in Highland Heights, Ky., at Northern Kentucky. If the Penguins clinch a berth, they would play a quarterfinal match on Nov. 21.
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