Youngstown, Ohio — Youngstown State's volleyball team hit .367 collectively and received a combined 25 kills from Abbie Householder and Gabriela Machin as it opened the 2025 season with a 3-0 victory over Mercyhurst on Friday afternoon.
The Penguins hosted Mercyhurst, Canisius and Duquesne for the YSU Invitational, presented by Mercy Health, inside a chilly Zidian Family Arena at Beeghly Center. Youngstown State fell 3-0 in a close battle with the Dukes to close Friday's action, and the Penguins will play Canisius on Saturday at 3 p.m. in the tournament's final match.
Against the Lakers, Youngstown State hit .419 in both the first and third sets as it won 25-12, 26-24, 25-18.
Machin led all players with 13 kills on 22 attempts, and the junior right-side hitter added four aces and three blocks for 18.5 points. Householder, playing on the left side, posted a double-double with 12 kills and 13 digs while contributing two blocks. Setter Kameron Blizniak led the offense with 33 assists while adding six digs.
YSU trailed 7-6 in the opening set but scored 18 of the next 21 points on its way to the 25-12 victory. The Penguins' largest lead in the second set was 9-5 following a kill by Blizniak, and the Lakers held the upper hand as late as 23-22. YSU scored four of the next five points, with Machin having two kills and an ace during the burst. Householder's 10th kill of the match gave the Penguins a 21-14 lead in the third, and Machin's 13th kill came on match point.
In the fourth and final match of the day, the Penguins dropped two sets by two points in a 36-34, 25-20, 25-23 loss to Duquesne.
Householder had a match-high 16 kills and 14 digs, Machin posted 15 kills, and Layne Graffice registered 11 kills and nine digs. Brie Habeeb dug a match-best 17 attacks from the libero position.
Both teams hit .211 in the match, but Duquesne had six more aces.
There were 16 ties and six lead changes in the opening set, and Youngstown State led 24-21 before the Dukes rallied behind Emersen Schrom. Duquesne's sophomore outside hitter had a sideout on YSU's first set point, and the Dukes took a 25-24 lead on her serve. A Niyah Lester kill tied the set at 25, and the Penguins' next set point came at 34-33 following a Householder block. Duquesne had three straight kills and finished with 26 kills in the opening set.
The Dukes led 24-14 in the second set before the Penguins put pressure on with six straight points, and Duquesne jumped out to a 10-3 lead in the third. YSU fought to tie the score at 21 on Machin's 15th kill, but the Penguins were never able to take the lead. Graffice had a kill to fend off Duquesne's first match point, but Ariel Helm provided the Dukes' 11th block of the match to secure the 25-23 win.
