Youngstown State University
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Mercyhurst
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| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | Final F |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mercyhurst | 17 | 16 | 13 | 0 |
| Youngstown St. | 25 | 25 | 25 | 3 |
Penguins Open 2026 Season With Record-Setting Sweep
8/28/2026 8:19:00 PM | Volleyball
Youngstown, Ohio — Three records were broken or tied in the Youngstown State women's volleyball team's sweep over Mercyhurst to open the 2026 campaign and YSU Invitational, presented by Mercy Health, on Friday afternoon at Zidian Family Arena. The Penguins beat the Lakers 25-17, 25-16, 25-13 before falling 3-1 (25-23, 25-19, 21-25, 25-15) to Duquesne in the evening match.
Ava Stratton opened her sophomore campaign with a new career-high 12 kills while posting a new program-best individual attacking percentage of .857, connecting for kills on 12 of her 14 attempts against Mercyhurst. She also set a new career-high with 13.5 points.
Ava Prince recorded six individual aces to tie the school record for a three-set rally-scoring match and set a new career-high. Her aces led the team to 14 total aces throughout the three sets, setting a new program record for a three-set rally-scoring contest.
The Penguins recorded an attacking percentage of .375, their best mark since the 2022 season. Over the last two sets the team recorded 25 of their 37 kills.
Kylie Surratt made her Penguin debut, backing Stratton on offense by adding seven kills and 10 points of her own.
The Penguins took the first set, 25-17, opening the contest on a five-point scoring run that featured kills from Izzy Henry and Stratton. Later in the set, the Penguins went on to score five straight once more to extend their lead to 11-3.
Defensively, the team did not allow Mercyhurst to score more than two consecutive points per rally, and the Penguins extended to a set-high nine-point lead twice in the contest.
In the second set, the Penguins and Lakers exchanged points early, but midway through the match, two scoring runs by YSU allowed them to take the lead and win the set, 25-16. With the set knotted at nine, the Penguins went on a 6-1 scoring run started by two kills from Surratt to take a 15-10 lead.
The next scoring run pushed the Penguins' lead to nine points and featured three straight aces from Prince.
Youngstown State completed its first sweep of the season with a 25-13 victory in the final set. The Penguins jumped out to a 5-0 lead and led throughout the remainder of the contest. A service error from the Lakers sparked a 7-0 scoring run for the Penguins, where Habeeb earned three points for her side with three aces.
The Lakers were able to hold off match point with a kill, but their own service error awarded the Penguins their first win of the season.
Youngstown State didn't manage as much success at the service line or offensively in the nightcap against Duquesne. The Penguins were held to a .162 attack percentage for the match, hindered by a .029 mark in set four, and were limited to six aces. Five of those aces came in the third set, which YSU won 25-21 and held the Dukes to a .216 attack percentage.
In the other three sets, Duquesne stayed in system more consistently and hit a combined .306.
Surratt led the Penguins offensively with a career-high 22 kills while hitting .283. The junior transfer from UT Martin topped her previous high of 20 kills while playing for the Skyhawks. Layne Graffice finished with nine kills, and Brie Habeeb posted 21 digs.
The Penguins will close out the invitational against Canisius inside Zidian Family Arena at Beeghly Center, with first serve set for 3 p.m.
