Youngstown State University
Oakland
11/5/2026 1:57:00 PM | Volleyball
With two weeks left in the regular season, Youngstown State begins a key four-match stretch this week when it plays a home-and-home series against Oakland on consecutive days. The Penguins and Golden Grizzlies will play inside Zidian Family Arena at Beeghly Center on Friday at 4 p.m., and they'll play at Oakland's OU Credit Union O'rena on Saturday at 4 p.m. Both matches will be broadcast live on ESPN+.
The Week Ahead
Match 1 vs. Oakland
- When: Friday, Nov. 6 | 4 p.m.
- Where: Zidian Family Arena at Beeghly Center | Youngstown, Ohio
- Promotion: YSU Canvas Pouch Giveaway
- Watch: ESPN+
- Stats: SIDEARM Stats
- Social: Instagram | Facebook | X
Match 2 at Oakland
- When: Saturday, Nov. 7 | 4 p.m.
- Where: OU Credit Union O'rena | Rochester, Mich.
- Watch: ESPN+
- Stats: SIDEARM Stats
- Social: Instagram | Facebook | X
A Glimpse at the Guins
- Youngstown State is 11-12 overall and 7-5 in Horizon League play after posting a 7-4 record in October. The Penguins are coming off a pair of road losses last week against the top two teams in the conference standings, Wright State and Northern Kentucky.
- With teams having either three or four matches remaining, seven teams are within 3.5 games of each other for the second through eighth spots in the standings. YSU's four remaining matches are all against teams in that group. The Penguins are 7-5, Oakland and Milwaukee are 6-6, and Green Bay is 8-4. After this week's two matches against Oakland, YSU hosts Milwaukee and Green Bay next week to conclude the regular season.
- The top eight teams at the end of the regular season qualify for the Horizon League Volleyball Championship, and the Penguins need one win to secure a spot. The top four seeds receive a first-round bye, and the top two teams receive a double bye.
- Three of the last four matches of the regular season will be on Rosselli Court, where the Penguins are 7-2 this season and 19-6 in their last 25 contests.
- YSU has won 18 Horizon League matches over the last two seasons. The Penguins had never won more than 14 matches over a two-year stretch.
- Youngstown State leads the Horizon League and ranks 27th in the country with 1.87 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 outside hitter Kylie Surratt ranks among the top six players in the Horizon League in aces (0.40), points (3.98) and kills (3.42) per set. The UT-Martin transfer has reached double digits in kills 18 times in 21 matches, 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 2.52 kills per set, and Stratton, a sophomore right-side hitter, is averaging 2.12 kills per set.
- 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.
Scouting Oakland
Record: 11-13 Overall // 6-6 Horizon League // 6-6 Home // 4-5 Away // 1-2 Neutral
Last Week: Oakland split two matches at home against Milwaukee last week, winning 3-0 last Friday and falling 3-1 on Saturday. The victory over the Panthers in the first match of the weekend gave Oakland a five-match winning streak, which included 2-0 series sweeps against Robert Morris and Cleveland State.
Horizon League Preseason Poll: 9th of 11
Stat Leaders:
Kills — Molly Reck (3.39 per set)
Assists — Delaney Stern (9.63 per set)
Aces — Molly Reck (0.32 per set)
Digs — Kalli Cook (4.17 per set)
Blocks — Grace Kooney (0.73 per set)
Notes: Oakland dropped its first four Horizon League matches but has won six of its last eight and five of its last six to improve to 6-6. The Golden Grizzlies have won three straight conference road matches, winning 3-2 and 3-1 at Robert Morris and 3-1 at Cleveland State. The Golden Grizzlies lead the Horizon League and rank 18th in the country with 16.31 digs per set. They rank among the top three teams in the league in kills and assists per set. Outside hitters Liv Hosford and Molly Reck were both named Horizon League Players of the Week in October..
Series History
Overall: Oakland leads 23-10 // Current Win Streak: Two by OU // YSU Last 10: 4-6
Home: 5-12 // Away: 5-11 // Neutral: 0-0 // Jarrett (career): 2-2
Youngstown State and Oakland have swept series from each other in each of the last two years, with each team going 2-0 on its home floor. The Penguins won 3-2 and 3-0 inside Zidian Family Arena at Beeghly Center in 2024, and the Golden Grizzlies won 3-0 and 3-1 at OU Credit Union O'rena in 2025. YSU has won four of the last seven meetings after Oakland had won 20 straight from its entry into the Horizon League in 2013 through 2022.
Recapping Last Week
YSU scores are listed first
Oct. 30 at Wright State » L, 0-3 (17-25, 17-25, 23-25)
Oct. 31 at Northern Kentucky » L, 0-3 (23-25, 22-25, 19-25)
- YSU dropped all six sets on the road last week against the top two teams in the Horizon League standings.
- The Penguins had been swept just once entering the week, a 3-0 loss at Butler on Sept. 3.
- YSU was averaging 1.90 aces per set entering the week but had just eight in six sets, an average of 1.33 per set.
- NKU had nine aces in the three-set match, which helped the Norse overcome a .160 attack percentage. That was the most aces by an opponent in Horizon League play and second to only Akron's 10 aces on Sept. 17 this season.
- Kameron Blizniak finished the weekend with exactly 1,700 assists in her career. She had 1,116 assists as a freshman, and she has 584 this season.
- Layne Graffice had a team-high 15 kills last week, averaging 2.50 per set. She had a team-high nine kills at NKU on Saturday.
- Brie Habeeb played all three sets at NKU and finished with seven digs and an ace. The sophomore defensive specialist went over 400 career digs in the match at NKU.
- Abbie Householder led the Penguins with 4.00 digs per set last week, posting 20 in five sets. She also averaged a team-high 0.40 aces per set.
- Journey Nicola recorded 22 digs over six sets in the two matches, posting 12 at Wright State and 10 at NKU. She has reached double digits in digs 14 times in the last 18 matches.
- Wrigley Takats was YSU's top scorer last week with 19 points. The junior middle blocker had 11 kills on a .333 attack percentage while adding two aces and 10 blocks. Takats led the Penguins with 1.10 blocks per set, 0.56 aces per set and a .289 attack percentage during October, which is when she moved from the right side to the middle.
Penguins In Depth
Upcoming Milestones
- Sophomore Kameron Blizniak needs two aces to reach 50 in her career.
- Sophomore Layne Graffice is 15 kills and 43 digs away from 500 of each in her career.
- Sophomore Izzy Henry needs 13 kills to reach 100 for her career.
- Fifth-year senior Abbie Householder is 35 digs away from breaking YSU's career record, which is currently 1,495 by Jill Raslevich (1992-95).
- Freshman Journey Nicola needs six digs to reach 250 this season.
- Junior Ava Prince is four assists away from 300 in her career.
- Sophomore Ava Stratton is five kills away from reaching 200 in her career.
News & Notes
Eyeing Another Tournament Appearance
Youngstown State is on the brink of clinching a spot in the Horizon League Volleyball Championship for the second straight season. The top eight teams at the end of the regular season qualify, and YSU is currently fourth with a 7-5 record and four matches remaining. The Penguins would secure a tournament appearance with their next victory, and they still have an opportunity to finish as high as second by winning out and getting help in the standings. Youngstown State has not played in consecutive conference tournaments since qualifying for three straight from 2012-14.
The top four teams at the end of the regular season will receive a bye to the second round, and the top two receive a double bye into the semifinals. Entering this week, the Penguins are two games behind second-place NKU and one game behind third-place Green Bay. The Norse and Green Bay play each other twice this weekend in Green Bay. YSU has a half-game lead on Purdue Fort Wayne, a one-game lead on Milwaukee and Oakland, and a one-and-a-half game lead on IU Indy.
Aces Rate on Record Pace
As the Penguins enter the final two weeks 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 1.87 aces per set overall, which is the most since 2001 and ranks 27th in the country, and 1.87 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.
Home Success
Youngstown State is on an impressive run at home, having gone 19-6 over its last 25 matches inside Zidian Family Arena at Beeghly Center. The Penguins won their last two matches of 2024, went 10-4 in 2025 and are 7-2 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 22-12 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.
Householder Returns After Record-Breaking 2025
Abbie Householder returns to the Penguins as a fifth-year senior after a record-breaking 2025 campaign. 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.
The outside hitter from nearby Canfield, Ohio, is YSU's career record holder with 1,541 kills and one of six players in program history with at least 1,000 career kills and 1,000 career digs. She ranks ninth in the country among all active Division I players in career kills. Householder's 1,461 digs rank second in YSU's career chart, 35 away from breaking Jill Raslevich's record of 1,495 that was set from 1992-95 in side-out scoring.
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 3.98 points per set. Additionally, she ranks sixth in the conference with 3.42 kills per set and second with 0.40 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 14 times in the first 23 matches of the 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 1,700 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 584 this season in a predominantly 6-2 offense.
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 2.14 kills and 0.53 blocks per set while hitting .231 after 21 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 seven times.
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 7-4 record since the lineup adjustments were made.
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.
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
The Penguins will conclude the regular season next week by hosting the Horizon League's Wisconsin teams on Thursday and Friday. YSU will take on Milwaukee on Thursday at 6 p.m., and it will play Green Bay on Friday at 6 p.m. The match against the Panthers will be Red, White & Blue Night, and the first 50 YSU students will receive a t-shirt and pizza. YSU will then salute seniors Abbie Householder and Teagan Ng before the match against Green Bay.
