Highland Heights, Ky. — Abbie Householder became the program's all-time leader in career kills, and she had plenty of support as Youngstown State's volleyball team beat Green Bay 3-2 on Friday in the quarterfinals of the 2025 Horizon League Volleyball Championship.
Youngstown State's season will continue on Saturday at 6 p.m. in the semifinals against Wright State. The Penguins improved their record to 17-13, matching the highest win total for the program since 1999.
Householder finished with 29 kills to increase her career total to 1,413. She surpassed Vickie Robinson's previous record of 1,408 that was established in the sideout scoring era from 1996-99. Householder, the 2025 Horizon League Player of the Year, had 11 more kills than any other Penguin has had in a Horizon League tournament match while tying for the eighth-highest total in any contest.
When it wasn't Householder getting kills on this record-setting night, it was Gabriela Machin or Layne Graffice. Machin finished with a career-high 27 kills in 49 attempts, while Graffice posted 16 kills in 37 swings. Machin and Householder became the first teammates in YSU history to have 25 kills in the same match.
Kameron Blizniak registered 70 assists, 10 more than any other Penguin has had in the current scoring format, while leading YSU to a .341 attack percentage. Youngstown State had an 82-67 edge in kills, with the 82 representing the most by the Penguins in a match in the current scoring format.
Defensively, Maria Insana had a career-high 25 digs, and Graffice posted a career-best 20 digs.
Householder and Machin combined for 14 kills in the opening set as YSU won 25-21, and the Penguins did not trail in another 25-21 victory in the second set. Machin posted seven of Youngstown State's 19 kills in the second as YSU took a 2-0 lead.
The Penguins led 19-15 in the third set, but Green Bay went on a 9-2 run and won 25-23. Householder's record-breaking kill gave Youngstown State a 20-19 lead in the fourth, but the Phoenix pushed ahead for another 25-23 win to force a fifth set.
The score was tied 4-4 in the fifth before the Penguins scored three straight points, two of which came on kills from Graffice, to take a 7-4 advantage. They'd lead the rest of the night. Izzy Henry's kill out of a timeout put YSU up 12-9, and Householder's final kill upped the margin to 13-9. Katie Schulz's team-high 19th kill for Green Bay closed the gap to three points, but Machin finished the match with back-to-back kills.
Saturday's semifinals will be broadcast live on ESPN+. Tournament host and top-seeded Northern Kentucky will face fourth-seeded IU Indy at 3 p.m. in the first contest of the day.
