Youngstown State University
5-8,1-1Horizon
IU Indy
7-9,2-1Horizon
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | Final F |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| IU Indy | 22 | 16 | 21 | 0 |
| Youngstown St. | 25 | 25 | 25 | 3 |
Penguins Sweep IU Indy in Horizon League Home Opener
10/2/2026 9:45:00 PM | Volleyball
Youngstown, Ohio — Youngstown State had a big serving advantage and hit .259 on offense to sweep IU Indy on Friday evening in its Horizon League home opener. The set scores against the Jaguars were 25-22, 25-16, 25-22.
In a series where neither team had recorded a sweep in the last 14 meetings, the Penguins earned their first sweep of the Jaguars since 1999. Youngstown State is now 5-8 overall, 4-1 at home and 1-1 in Horizon League play, while IU Indy dropped to 7-9 overall and 2-1 against the conference.
YSU finished with seven aces, and its aggressive serving kept the Jaguars out of system for portions of the match. The Penguins also benefited from IU Indy's 14 serving errors, and the Jaguars also had 21 attack errors. Those attack errors allowed Youngstown State to hold a .259-.113 advantage in hitting percentage.
Korina Barber led the Penguins on offense with nine kills on 14 attempts from the middle, and YSU had a balanced attack. Five players finished with between 13 and 18 attacks, and four recorded between five and nine kills. Journey Nicola led the defense with 12 digs, Barber had a team-high two blocks, and Hayden Rodriguez paced the Penguins with 13 assists in their 6-2 offense. Wrigley Takats had a team-best three aces, and Kameron Blizniak added two.
Bailey Sinish led IU Indy with a match-high 12 kills.
Youngstown State's last deficit in the opening set was 4-3, and the Penguins went on an 8-3 run late to turn a 16-16 tie into a 24-19 lead. The Jaguars had three serving errors during that run, which ended with consecutive kills by Barber. IU Indy fought off three set points before Layne Graffice finished the set with a kill.
The Penguins pulled away at a similar point in the second set, flipping a 14-14 tie into a 20-14 lead behind three aces from Takats in a five-point stretch. YSU had six aces total in the set, and the Jaguars had 11 attack errors.
YSU then built a 17-8 lead in the third set and held off the Jaguars once they closed to within 20-17. Ava Stratton had kills at 20-17 and 22-19 to keep IU Indy from getting closer than three, and Abbie Householder's kill came on match point when the Jaguars got within three again.
Youngstown State and IU Indy will play again inside Zidian Family Arena at Beeghly Center on Saturday at 2 p.m.
