Youngstown State University
Cleveland State
Penguins Head to Cleveland State for Two League Matches
10/15/2026 11:56:00 AM | Volleyball
Youngstown State faces more road challenges this week as it travels 75 miles northwest for two Horizon League matches against Cleveland State. The Penguins and Vikings will play inside Woodling Gymnasium on Friday at 6 p.m. and on Saturday at 2 p.m. Both matches will be broadcast live on ESPN+, and live stats will be available on YSUsports.com.
The Week Ahead
Match 1 at Cleveland State
- When: Friday, Oct. 16 | 6 p.m.
- Where: Woodling Gymnasium | Cleveland, Ohio
- Watch: ESPN+
- Stats: SIDEARM Stats
- Social: Instagram | Facebook | X
Match 2 at Purdue Fort Wayne
- When: Saturday, Oct. 16 | 2 p.m.
- Where: Woodling Gymnasium | Cleveland, Ohio
- Watch: ESPN+
- Stats: SIDEARM Stats
- Social: Instagram | Facebook | X
A Glimpse at the Guins
- Youngstown State enters the week with a 7-10 overall record and a 3-3 mark in Horizon League play after going 2-1 last week. The Penguins swept Robert Morris last Tuesday, and they handed Purdue Fort Wayne its first conference loss with a 3-1 victory on Friday. The Mastodons flipped the script and won 3-1 on Saturday, giving YSU its third straight series split to begin Horizon League play.
- The Penguins will reach the midpoint of the conference slate after this week. They are currently sixth in the Horizon League standings with their 3-3 record. YSU is one game behind fifth-place IU Indy and a game-and-a-half up on seventh-place Milwaukee. The top eight teams at the end of the regular season advance to the Horizon League Volleyball Championship on Nov. 19-22.
- YSU had a nine-day break between its Horizon League opener and its second match, but it played five matches over the next nine days. YSU made a rotation change during that nine day break, moving Wrigley Takats from the right side to the middle, adding Abbie Householder into the lineup at outside hitter, and switching Kylie Surratt to the right side in Takats' previous spot. Hayden Rodriguez also moved into the lineup as a setter when YSU uses the 6-2 offense.
- Eight letterwinners and five players who started at least 14 matches return from last season's squad that went 17-14 overall while winning a school-record 11 Horizon League matches. Three of those returners — Kameron Blizniak, Layne Graffice and Abbie Householder — earned all-conference accolades in 2025. YSU was picked to finish sixth in the Horizon League preseason poll.
- The Penguins rank 59th in the country and second in the Horizon League with 1.75 aces per set. They have posted at least nine aces seven times, and their season high is 14 aces in a sweep of Mercyhurst in the season opener. YSU's current school record for aces per set in a season in the 25-point rally scoring era is 1.62.
- Junior outside hitter Kylie Surratt ranks among the top five players in the Horizon League in points (4.09), aces (0.39) and kills (3.58) per set. The UT-Martin transfer has reached double digits in kills 14 times, highlighted by a 34-kill effort against Marshall on Sept. 5.
- The Penguins have two additional hitters averaging at least 2.1 kills per set — Graffice and Ava Stratton. Graffice, a sophomore outside hitter, is averaging 2.67 kills per set for the season and 2.83 in Horizon League matches. Stratton, a sophomore right-side hitter, is averaging 2.18 kills per set, a big boost from when she had 13 kills in 13 sets as a freshman.
Scouting Cleveland State
Record: 3-14 Overall // 0-6 Horizon League // 0-5 Home // 1-7 Away // 2-2 Neutral
Last Week: Cleveland State fell twice at Milwaukee last week, losing 3-0 on Friday and 3-2 on Saturday. The Vikings held a 2-1 lead in Saturday's match before the Panthers rallied to win the final two sets.
Horizon League Preseason Poll: 8th of 11
Stat Leaders:
Kills — Bryn VanVleet (2.76 per set)
Assists — Fiona Cooper (8.74 per set)
Aces — Jazen DeBina (0.53 per set)
Digs — Vayda Delventhal (3.94 per set)
Blocks — Julia Jozefov (0.94 per set)
Notes: Cleveland State leads the Horizon League and ranks 26th in the country with 1.92 aces per set. The Vikings are 28th nationally in total aces with 127. Cleveland State is also in the top half of the conference with 1.96 blocks per set and a .228 opponent hitting percentage, which both rank fifth. Individually, Jazen DeBina ranks 30th in the country and first in the Horizon League with 0.53 aces per set.
Series History
Overall: Cleveland St. leads 70-20 // Current Win Streak: Two by YSU // Last 10: 3-7
Home: 8-28 // Away: 10-32 // Neutral: 2-10 // Jarrett (career): 2-2
Last Season: Youngstown State won both matches against the Vikings last season, winning 3-0 and 3-2 inside Zidian Family Arena at Beeghly Center on Nov. 6-7. The Penguins hadn't beaten the Vikings in Youngstown since 2013, and CSU had won 18 of the previous 20 meetings dating back to 2015.
Recapping Last Week
YSU scores are listed first
Oct. 6 vs. Robert Morris » W, 3-0 (25-20, 25-20, 25-17)
Oct. 9 at Purdue Fort Wayne » W, 3-1 (25-22, 21-25, 25-22, 25-17)
Oct. 10 at Purdue Fort Wayne » L, 1-3 (18-25, 25-20, 22-25, 13-25)
- The Penguins went 2-1 last week to finish up a busy stretch of Horizon League matches. YSU played five matches in a nine-day span from Oct. 2 through Oct. 10, and it finished 3-2 in contests against IU Indy, Robert Morris and Purdue Fort Wayne.
- After falling in five sets at RMU in the conference opener on Sept. 22, the Penguins bounced back to sweep the Colonials last Tuesday. Youngstown State hit .296 as a team while posting eight blocks, and it trailed no later than 17-16 in any of the three sets.
- YSU followed that win over RMU by earning a four-set win at Purdue Fort Wayne on Friday. It was the Penguins' first road victory of the season and the Mastodons' first loss in Horizon League play.
- The Penguins have now split each of their first three Horizon League series against Robert Morris, IU Indy and Purdue Fort Wayne. YSU is sixth in the conference standings with its 3-3 mark against league opponents, one game behind IU Indy and a game-and-a-half ahead of Milwaukee.
- Sophomore Kameron Blizniak recorded her 1,500th career assist in YSU's win over RMU. She is one of 11 setters in program history to reach that milestone.
- Sophomore Layne Graffice registered her 400th career dig last week. A six-rotation outside hitter, Graffice now has 438 kills and 403 digs in her career.
- Wrigley Takats had three aces in Friday's win at Purdue Fort Wayne, matching her career high. Takats did not have any aces in her career heading into October. She has eight in 19 sets this month, an average of 0.42 per set.
- Ava Stratton had her best two-match stretch offensively since Horizon League play began at Purdue Fort Wayne. The sophomore right-side hitter had 16 kills while hitting .375 over eight sets.
- Kylie Surratt had a strong three-match stretch last week, leading the Penguins with 4.23 points per set while posting a .407 attack percentage. She averaged 4.00 kills per set for the week, and she had at least 12 kills and hit .295 or better in all three matches. Surratt had a season-high three blocks in Friday's win at Purdue Fort Wayne.
Penguins In Depth
Upcoming Milestones
- Sophomore Kameron Blizniak needs four aces to reach 50 in her career.
- Sophomore Brie Habeeb is seven digs shy of 400 for her career.
- Sophomore Izzy Henry needs 13 kills to record 100 for her career.
- Fifth-year senior Abbie Householder is 11 kills shy of 1,500 for her career, and she needs 10 digs to reach 1,400 in her career.
- Junior Ava Prince is seven assists away from 300 in her career.
- Junior Kylie Surratt needs one dig to reach 500 for her career, 21 kills to reach 800 and eight blocks to reach 100.
- Junior Wrigley Takats needs nine blocks to reach 100 in her career.
News & Notes
Home Success
Youngstown State is on an impressive run at home, having gone 17-6 over its last 23 matches inside Zidian Family Arena at Beeghly Center. The Penguins won their last two matches of 2024, went 10-4 in 2025 and are 5-2 to start the 2026 campaign. Last year's 10 victories tied the 1999 team for the most in a season in program history. Youngstown State is 20-12 overall at home in Riley Jarrett's two-plus seasons as head coach. The Penguins had 23 home wins combined in the eight seasons prior to her arrival.
Building on Last Season's Success
Youngstown State is a driven group with a large core of players returning from last season's squad that moved the program from last in the Horizon League preseason poll to the No. 3 seed in the conference tournament. Eight letterwinners and five players who started at least 14 matches last season are back with a mission to take another step forward in the third season under head coach Riley Jarrett. Three of those returners — Kameron Blizniak, Layne Graffice and Abbie Householder — earned All-Horizon League accolades in 2025.
The Penguins went 17-14 overall while winning a school-record 11 Horizon League matches in 2025, and they advanced to the semifinals of the Horizon League Championship for the first time since 2014. The 11 conference wins were the second most in program history and the most since the 1999 squad was 13-1 in the Mid-Continent Conference. YSU's highest win total in its first 24 years in the Horizon League was eight, set in 2022. Youngstown State was particularly strong inside Zidian Family Arena at Beeghly Center in 2025, posting a 10-4 record to tie the program record from 1999.
Aces Rate on Record Pace
As YSU enters the second half of the regular season, the Penguins are on track to have their best season at the service line in the NCAA's current scoring format. Youngstown State is averaging 1.75 aces per set through its first 17 matches, which is the most since 2001. YSU's best rate since rally scoring switched to 25 points in 2008 was 1.62 aces per set in 2022. The Penguins averaged 1.43 aces per set in 2025.
Householder Returns After Record-Breaking 2025
Abbie Householder returns to the Penguins as a fifth-year senior after a record-breaking 2025 campaign. The outside hitter from nearby Canfield, Ohio, is YSU's career record holder with 1,489 kills and one of six players in program history with at least 1,000 career kills and 1,000 career digs. She ranks eighth in the country among all active Division I players in career kills. Householder's 1,390 digs rank second in YSU's career chart, 105 away from the record of 1,495. Among her long list of accomplishments in 2025, she was an AVCA Honorable Mention All-American, the Horizon League Player of the Year, the YSU Female Student-Athlete of the Year and the Horizon League Female Fall Scholar-Athlete of the Season.
Graffice Trending Up in League Play
After an injury affected the early part of the season, Layne Graffice has seen improvement in her numbers during Horizon League play. Graffice, a sophomore outside hitter, is averaging 2.83 kills per set while hitting .230 in the first six conference matches. That's up from 2.56 kills per set and a .175 attack percentage in non-league play.
Stratton Showing Improvement
Ava Stratton has made the biggest jump from last season among Youngstown State's returners. The sophomore right-side hitter is averaging 2.18 kills and 0.49 blocks per set while hitting .226 after 17 matches. In 2025, Stratton had 13 kills and one block over 13 sets. She began the season by hitting a school record .857 with 12 kills on 14 attempts without an error in a sweep of Mercyhurst. She has reached double digits in kills six times.
Surratt Among League Leaders
Kylie Surratt has become one of the top players in the Horizon League in her first season at Youngstown State. A junior outside hitter who transferred from UT-Martin in January, Surratt currently ranks third in the Horizon League with 4.09 points per set. Additionally, she ranks fourth in the conference with 3.58 kills per set and fifth with 0.39 aces per set. Her previous career highs came as a freshman for the Skyhawks when she averaged 2.98 kills and 3.34 points per set. Surratt's best match came against Marshall on Sept. 5 when she had 34 kills on 71 attempts in a five-setter. That was the highest kill total in the country that week and one kill shy of the YSU record.
Four Comprise Leadership Group
Youngstown State has a junior and three sophomores as its leaders this season as junior Ava Prince and sophomores Kameron Blizniak, Layne Graffice and Brie Habeeb comprise the leadership team. The group was elected by their teammates, and each member of the quartet is in a leadership role for the first time.
Penguins Add Three Division I Transfers in January
Youngstown State added experience before the 2026 spring semester as juniors Ashlee Gnau, Kylie Surratt and Wrigley Takats arrived from Division I institutions. Gnau, a defensive specialist, played in 34 matches over two seasons at Syracuse. Surratt had two prolific seasons as an outside hitter at UT-Martin, posting totals of 539 kills, 392 digs and 77 blocks while being named to the All-Ohio Valley Conference Second Team as a freshman. Takats, a middle blocker and right side hitter who arrived from Eastern Michigan, recorded 60 kills and 58 blocks as a sophomore. Surratt ranks among the top five players in the Horizon League in points, kills and aces per set this season. Takats has played in 50 sets overall, and she is averaging 1.50 kills and 0.68 blocks per set while hitting .294 in Horizon League play.
Freshman Class of Five
Youngstown State has a talented and position-balanced class of five freshmen on this year's roster. The group includes pin hitter Natalie Carr, defensive specialist Journey Nicola, setter Hayden Rodriguez, and middle blockers Korina Barber and Makayla Keibler. Nicola, Rodriguez and Barber are Ohioans, and Carr and Keibler are from the Pittsburgh, Pa. area. Carr and Keibler were club teammates with Pittsburgh Elite Volleyball, and Nicola and Barber both played club ball with Mintonette. Barber has started every match at middle blocker and leads the Penguins with 0.79 blocks per set. Nicola has been libero since the fifth match of the season, and she is averaging a team-high 2.93 digs per set. Rodriguez has been YSU's second setter in the 6-2 offense since the start of October and is averaging 4.13 assists per set this month.
Penguins Slotted Sixth in HL Preseason Poll
Youngstown State was selected to finish sixth in the Horizon League this season in a preseason poll of the conference's 11 head coaches. YSU received 68 points in the poll, which was just eight points behind fourth-place Milwaukee. Sixth place ties the highest preseason ranking for the Penguins since they joined the conference in 2001. The top eight teams in the regular season will advance to the Horizon League Volleyball Championship on Nov. 19-22.
AVCA Team Academic Award Regulars
Youngstown State earned the AVCA Team Academic Award for high achievement in the classroom for the 13th consecutive year during the 2025-26 campaign. YSU began the streak in 2013-14, and its 13-year run is tied for the longest streak in the Horizon League for maintaining a year-long grade-point average of at least 3.3 on a 4.0 scale. The Penguins registered a 3.411 team GPA during the 2025-26 academic year, posting a 3.329 in the fall and a 3.505 in the spring.
Up Next
Youngstown State will play its final two home matches of October next weekend against Horizon League newcomer Northern Illinois. The Penguins and Huskies will play at 6 p.m. on Oct. 23 and 2 p.m. on Oct. 24. Friday's contest will be YSU's annual Pink Night, where the program raises awareness for breast cancer.
