Youngstown State University
Milwaukee
11/11/2026 11:03:00 AM | Volleyball
Youngstown, Ohio — Youngstown State looks to secure a first-round bye in the Horizon League Volleyball Championship and end the regular season with momentum as it hosts the conference's Wisconsin schools this week inside Zidian Family Arena at Beeghly Center.
The Penguins will play Milwaukee on Thursday at 6 p.m. and Green Bay on Friday at 6 p.m. in the final week of the regular season, and both matches will be broadcast live on ESPN+. YSU will celebrate the careers of seniors Abbie Householder and Teagan Ng before Friday's contest.
The Week Ahead
Match 1 vs. Milwaukee
- When: Thursday, Nov. 12 | 6 p.m.
- Where: Zidian Family Arena at Beeghly Center | Youngstown, Ohio
- Promotion: Red, White & Blue Night, and the first 50 YSU students receive a free t-shirt and pizza
- Watch: ESPN+
- Stats: SIDEARM Stats
- Social: Instagram | Facebook | X
Match 2 vs. Green Bay
- When: Friday, Nov. 13 | 6 p.m.
- Where: Zidian Family Arena at Beeghly Center | Youngstown, Ohio
- Promotion: Senior Night celebration for Abbie Householder and Teagan Ng starting at approximately 5:45 p.m.
- Watch: ESPN+
- Stats: SIDEARM Stats
- Social: Instagram | Facebook | X
A Glimpse at the Guins
- Youngstown State enters the final week with a 13-12 overall record and a 9-5 record in Horizon League play. The Penguins can finish as high as a tie for second and as low as sixth in the final regular-season standings, and a top-four seed would allow them to have a bye into the quarterfinals of next week's Horizon League Volleyball Championship.
- Heading into the final week, YSU is alone in third place in the standings and leads Green Bay and Purdue Fort Wayne by one game. The Penguins and Mastodons split their two meetings, with both teams winning in four sets, and YSU hosts the Phoenix on Friday. Youngstown State could tie for second with two wins and two NKU losses, but the Norse would hold the tiebreaker based on a head-to-head victory over the Penguins on Halloween.
- Youngstown State has secured its second straight winning record in Horizon League play. Before last season, YSU had never finished better than .500 since joining the conference in 2001. The Penguins have 20 league wins over the last two seasons, which is six more than their previous high for a two-year stretch.
- The Penguins are 9-4 since the start of October, and they will look to continue their success on Rosselli Court. YSU is 8-2 on its home floor this season and 20-6 in its last 26 contests. With two wins this week, the Penguins would tie a school record for most home wins and post their second-best home winning percentage in program history.
- Youngstown State leads the Horizon League and ranks 30th in the country with 1.83 aces per set. The Penguins have posted at least nine aces 10 times, and they set a school record for most aces in a Horizon League match with 16 at Cleveland State on Oct. 17. YSU's current school record for aces per set in a season in the 25-point rally-scoring era is 1.62.
- Junior pin hitter Kylie Surratt ranks among the top six players in the Horizon League in aces (0.39), points (3.96) and kills (3.41) per set. The UT-Martin transfer has reached double digits in kills 20 times in 25 matches, highlighted by a 34-kill effort against Marshall on Sept. 5.
- Fifth-year senior Abbie Householder owns YSU's career records for kills and points, and she needs 17 digs to tie the current mark of 1,495 that has stood since 1995. She broke the career kills record last season, and she became the all-time leader in points on Oct. 31.
- Newcomers Korina Barber and Wrigley Takats both rank among the top 10 in the Horizon League in blocks per set. Barber is the top freshman blocker in the conference with 0.84 per set.
This Week's Opponents
Scouting Milwaukee
Record: 11-15 Overall // 6-8 Horizon League // 4-5 Home // 5-8 Away // 2-2 Neutral
Recently: Milwaukee lost twice at home to Wright State, falling 3-0 on Friday and 3-1 on Saturday. The Panthers had won six of their last eight matches heading into the series against the Raiders.
Horizon League Preseason Poll: 4th of 11
Stat Leaders:
Kills — Ella Parker (2.66 per set)
Assists — Milica Tomic (5.48 per set)
Aces — Milica Tomic (0.25 per set)
Digs — Kati Goba (4.31 per set)
Blocks — Josie Noble (1.06 per set)
Notes: The Panthers rank third in the Horizon League with 1.97 blocks per set, and Josie Noble ranks in the top four individually in the conference in total blocks (82) and blocks per set (1.06). Kati Goba ranks 58th nationally and third in the league with 4.31 digs per set.
Series History:
Overall: Milwaukee leads 42-12 // Current Win Streak: 2 by YSU // YSU Last 10: 3-7
Home: 9-17 // Away: 3-23 // Neutral: 0-2 // Jarrett (career): 2-0
Scouting Green Bay
Record: 15-10 Overall // 8-6 Horizon League // 7-3 Home // 4-5 Away // 4-2 Neutral
Recently: After losing twice at home to Northern Kentucky last week, Green Bay has dropped three straight matches and four of its last five. Four of the Phoenix's losses in league play have been to Wright State and NKU, the top two teams in the standings.
Horizon League Preseason Poll: 5th of 11
Stat Leaders:
Kills — Diane Pichelman (3.20 per set)
Assists — Alexa Hernandez (9.77 per set)
Aces — Diane Pichelman (0.39 per set)
Digs — Macy Kline (3.90 per set)
Blocks — Olivia Neumann (1.12 per set)
Notes: Green Bay holds opponents to a .177 attack percentage, which is the best mark in the Horizon League and ranks 39th in the country. Diane Pichelman leads the league in total aces with 62, and Olivia Neumann's 112 total blocks top the league.
Series History:
Overall: GB leads 47-10 // Current Win Streak: 1 by YSU // YSU Last 10: 1-9
Home: 4-23 // Away: 4-22 // Neutral: 2-2 // Jarrett (career): 1-4
Recapping Last Week
YSU scores are listed first
Nov. 6 vs. Oakland » W, 3-1 (25-14, 25-22, 20-25, 25-23)
Nov. 7 at Oakland » W, 3-0 (25-20, 25-19, 25-17)
- The Penguins won six out of seven sets against Oakland, topping the Golden Grizzlies on consecutive days in the home-and-home series. YSU won 3-1 in Youngstown on Friday, and it swept Oakland on the Blacktop at the OU Credit Union O'rena on Saturday.
- Saturday's 3-0 win was YSU's first road sweep of the Golden Grizzlies since 1999.
- The Penguins improved to 6-3 against Oakland in the last nine meetings. Before YSU's 3-2 win at Oakland on Oct. 18, 2022, the Golden Grizzlies had won 20 straight contests in the series.
- YSU recorded 20 blocks in the seven sets, and Friday's 14 blocks were the most in a match this season. The Penguins have had more than 14 blocks in a four-set rally-scoring match just six times in their history. YSU is averaging 2.15 blocks per set since the start of October, up from 1.56 in August and September.
- The Penguins held Oakland to a .115 attack percentage in the two matches, with the Golden Grizzlies hitting .145 on Friday and .068 on Saturday. YSU has held six of its last seven opponents under .180, with the exception being Wright State.
- Korina Barber averaged 1.29 blocks per set and recorded nine total blocks to increase her season total to a team-high 81. Barber is the ninth freshman in program history to have at least 80 blocks, and her 81 blocks are the most by a YSU freshman in the current scoring format.
- Layne Graffice led the Penguins with four aces last week, including three in Friday's four-set victory. She also had 26 digs, which ranked second on the team.
- Abbie Householder led the Penguins in scoring last week with 22 kills, two aces and five blocks for 26.5 points. Her 22 kills came on a .296 attack percentage, which was the best among YSU's pin hitters.
- Journey Nicola increased her season digs total to 275, the ninth-most by a freshman in school history. She averaged a team-high 4.43 digs per set last week.
- Ava Stratton had 12 kills last week and surpassed 200 kills for her career.
- Kylie Surratt posted a team-high 23 kills, averaging 3.29 per set and hitting at a a .259 clip.
- Wrigley Takats tied a season high with eight blocks on Friday and finished the weekend series averaging 1.57 blocks per set. She is averaging 1.17 blocks per set since becoming an everyday starter in the middle at the start of October.
Penguins In Depth
Upcoming Milestones
- Sophomore Kameron Blizniak needs two aces to reach 50 in her career. She is also 44 assists shy of 1,800 in her career.
- Sophomore Layne Graffice is three kills and 17 digs away from 500 of each in her career.
- Fifth-year senior Abbie Householder is 17 digs away from tying YSU's career record, which is currently 1,495 by Jill Raslevich (1992-95).
- Freshman Journey Nicola needs 25 digs to reach 300 this season.
- Junior Ava Prince is three assists away from 300 in her career.
- Junior Kylie Surratt needs 34 kills to reach 900 in her career.
News & Notes
Eyeing A Top-Four Seed and Tournament Bye
In the final week of the regular season, Youngstown State is looking to clinch a top-four seed in the Horizon League Volleyball Championship for the third time in program history. The Penguins are currently in third place in the conference standings with a 9-5 record, and two wins this week would assure them the third seed in the tournament. A top-four seed would earn the Penguins a bye into the quarterfinals. Specific tiebreaker scenarios have not been released by the conference, but YSU has a better than 91% chance to be a top-four seed, according to the league office. Youngstown State has already clinched a top-six seed, and it will play in consecutive conference tournaments for the first time since qualifying for three straight from 2012-14. YSU was the third seed in 2025, and it was the fourth seed in 2014.
Entering Thursday's match, YSU will be 1.5 games behind second-place NKU, one game up on Green Bay and Purdue Fort Wayne, and 1.5 games ahead of sixth-place IU Indy.
Aces Rate on Record Pace
As the Penguins enter the final week of the regular season, they are on track to have their best season at the service line in the NCAA's current scoring format. Youngstown State is averaging 1.83 aces per set overall, which is the most since 2001 and ranks 30th in the country, and 1.81 per set against Horizon League opponents. 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.
The Penguins have had two notable performances in their serving game this season. As a team, YSU's 14 aces against Mercyhurst in the season opener were the most in program history in a three-set, rally-scoring match, surpassing the previous mark of 11 at Canisius in 2022. On Oct. 17 at Cleveland State, YSU set a school record for most aces in a Horizon League match with 16.
In Horizon League matches, Wrigley Takats is leading the conference with 0.51 aces per set. Kylie Surratt, Layne Graffice and Abbie Householder are averaging between 0.34 and 0.27 per set and rank between 11th and 17th among the league leaders.
Home Success
Youngstown State is on an impressive run at home, having gone 20-6 over its last 26 matches inside Zidian Family Arena at Beeghly Center. The Penguins won their last two matches of 2024, went 10-4 in 2025 and are 8-2 to start the 2026 campaign. Last year's 10 victories tied the 1999 team for the most in a season in program history, and YSU could match that with two victories in the final week of the regular season. Youngstown State is 23-12 overall at home in Riley Jarrett's two-plus seasons as head coach. The Penguins were 23-70 at home in the eight seasons prior to her arrival.
Householder Adding to Career Resume
Fifth-year senior Abbie Householder owns two significant career records at Youngstown State, and she could add a third this week. The outside hitter from nearby Canfield, Ohio, became YSU's career record holder in kills last season, and her current total is 1,563 kills. She became the all-time points leader earlier this season on Oct. 31, with a current total of 1,813. Householder's 1,478 digs rank second in YSU's career chart, 17 away from tying Jill Raslevich's record of 1,495 that was set from 1992-95 in side-out scoring. Householder is one of six players in program history with at least 1,000 career kills and 1,000 career digs, and she ranks ninth in the country among all active Division I players in career kills.
Among Householder's 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.
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 sixth in the Horizon League with 3.96 points per set. Additionally, she ranks sixth in the conference with 3.41 kills per set and fourth 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. Surratt has led the Penguins in kills 16 times in 25 matches this season.
Blizniak Enters Top 10 in Career Assists
Sophomore Kameron Blizniak moved into 10th place on YSU's career assists list in the win over NIU on Oct. 24. She is one of 11 setters in Youngstown State history to surpass 1,500 career assists, and her total of 1,756 entering this week ranks 10th. She will sit 10th for a while as the top nine Penguins in program history all have over 2,100 career assists. Blizniak had 1,116 assists as a freshman last season as the Penguins ran primarily a 5-1 offense, and she has 640 this season in a predominantly 6-2 offense.
Lineup Spark After Bye Week
YSU had a nine-day break between its Horizon League opener on Sept. 22 and its second match on Oct. 2. 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. YSU has a 9-4 record since the lineup adjustments were made.
Takats Making an Impact
Wrigley Takats' move from the right side to the middle has been a key part of YSU's improved play since the start of October. Over the last 13 matches as the Penguins have posted a 9-4 record, Takats is averaging 1.17 blocks and a Horizon League-leading 0.54 aces per set. She is also contributing 1.65 kills per set on a team-high .289 attack percentage.
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.
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.
Up Next
Youngstown State's season will continue at the 2026 Horizon League Volleyball Championship next week at Wright State's C.J. McLin Gymnasium. If YSU can earn a top four seed, its first match in the tournament would be in the quarterfinals on Friday, Nov. 20. If the Penguins are the fifth or sixth seed, they would play a first-round game on Thursday, Nov. 19.
