Youngstown State University
8-10,4-3Horizon
Cleveland State
3-15,0-7Horizon
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | Final F |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Youngstown St. | 26 | 21 | 25 | 27 | 15 | 3 |
| Cleveland St. | 28 | 25 | 20 | 25 | 13 | 2 |
10/16/2026 9:45:00 PM | Volleyball
Cleveland, Ohio — Youngstown State's volleyball team rallied from a two-set deficit to earn a hard-fought road win over Cleveland State on Friday night at Woodling Gymnasium.
The first, fourth and fifth sets were each decided by two points, and the Penguins fought off a match point in the fourth on their way to victory. Youngstown State is now 8-10 overall and 4-3 in Horizon League play, while the Vikings dropped to 3-15 overall and 0-7 in conference matches. The set scores were 26-28, 21-25, 25-20, 27-25, 15-13.
Kylie Surratt led the Penguins with 17 kills, and she posted four of YSU's 11 aces in the match. Ava Stratton had 11 of her kills over the final three sets, and Abbie Householder went over 1,500 career kills by finishing with a season-high 13. Householder added 17 digs for a double-double and tied Journey Nicola for the team lead. Wrigley Takats finished with seven blocks and three aces, and Juliana Rivera matched her with three aces.
Jazen DeBina led Cleveland State with 20 kills on 38 attempts. Alyssa Cerovac finished with 14 kills, including eight in the first set as Cleveland State battled through 10 ties and four lead changes to take a 1-0 lead. The Vikings then had four blocks in the second set, including two during an 8-1 run over the final nine points.
The Vikings jumped out to a 6-1 lead in the third set, but Youngstown State went on a rally and surged ahead when consecutive Surratt aces put the Penguins up 14-10. The Penguins went on to win 25-20 and hit .314 in the set, boosted by a combined nine kills in 16 attempts from Stratton and Surratt.
Cleveland State led 22-19 in the fourth as it looked to close out the match, but Surratt had a kill and teamed up with Takats for a block to build momentum. Layne Graffice followed with an ace to tie the set, and the Penguins led 24-23 on an attack error. The Vikings scored the next two points to set up match point, which Householder fought off with her 1,500th career kill. Surratt then laced back-to-back aces after the sideout to give YSU the 27-25 win.
The Penguins hit .450 in the fifth set with 10 kills and just one error in 20 swings, and they led 10-6 after kills from Surratt and Householder and an ace by Takats in a 3-0 run. Korina Barber had two kills to put YSU up 12-9, but the Vikings rallied and tied the score at 12 and 13 before the Penguins prevailed. Stratton had a kill to put YSU ahead 14-13, and Cleveland State hit long on match point.
Youngstown State will go for the weekend sweep against the Vikings on Saturday at 2 p.m.
