Volleyball Set for Horizon League Opener on Tuesday at RMU

Youngstown State's volleyball team begins its 26th season in the Horizon League this Tuesday as it makes the short trip across the Pennsylvania border to take on Robert Morris. The Penguins and Colonials will play at 6 p.m. at the UPMC Events Center in Moon Township, Pa., and the match will be broadcast live on ESPN+.

Youngstown State vs. Robert Morris

When: Tuesday, Sept. 22 | 6 p.m.
Where: UPMC Events Center | Moon Township, Pa.
Watch: ESPN+
Stats: SIDEARM Stats
Social: Instagram | Facebook | X

A Glimpse at the Guins

The Penguins enter Horizon League play after posting a 4-7 record during their nonconference schedule. YSU went 3-1 at home over the first four weeks of the season, while going 0-3 in road matches and 1-3 in neutral-site contests. Among the losses were five-setters to Marshall and Ohio State.
YSU is opening Horizon League play against Robert Morris for the first time since the Colonials joined the Penguins in the conference in the 2021 spring season. The Penguins will be looking to win their league opener for the first time since that 2021 spring campaign.
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.
Third-year head coach Riley Jarrett celebrated the 100th victory of her career on Aug. 29 with the win over Canisius. Jarrett was 72-40 over four seasons at Division II West Liberty (West Virginia) from 2020-23, and she is 30-42 at YSU.
During the nonconference schedule, outside hitter Kylie Surratt showed she can be among the league's best players in 2026. Through her first four weeks as a Penguin, Surratt ranks among the top three in the conference in points (4.47), kills (3.91) and aces (0.44) per set. The UT-Martin transfer has reached double digits in kills nine times, highlighted by a 34-kill effort against Marshall on Sept. 5.
Ava Stratton showed breakout potential during the nonconference schedule, averaging 2.42 kills on a .276 attack percentage. The sophomore right-side hitter had just 13 kills in 13 sets as a freshman, and she has 104 through 43 sets in 2026.
The Penguins rank 46th in the country and second in the Horizon League with 1.86 aces per set, bolstered by their 14 aces in a sweep of Mercyhurst in the season opener. Blizniak, Surratt and Ava Prince rank among the top 11 in the conference individually.
With the Horizon League's scheduling parameters this season, Youngstown State will have a nine-day break from competition before its next match. YSU will host IU Indy for matches on Oct. 2-3, and a rematch with RMU will follow on Oct. 6.

Scouting Robert Morris

Record: 2-9 Overall // 2-2 Home // 0-3 Away // 0-4 Neutral

Last Week: Robert Morris earned its first two wins of the season last week, sweeping Siena and Maryland Eastern Shore at the Natale Sports Goods Invitational at RMU. Outside hitters Lauren Decker and Layla Todd both had strong tournaments, averaging 5.67 and 5.50 kills per set, respectively.

Horizon League Preseason Poll: 10th of 11

Stat Leaders:

Kills — Lauren Decker (3.56 per set)
Assists — Kenlee Barnard (9.55 per set)
Aces — Kenlee Barnard (0.32 per set)
Digs — Anahi Alvarado (3.13 per set)
Blocks — Natalie Frost (0.74 per set)

Notes: Robert Morris ranks second in the Horizon League with 14.53 digs per set.

Series History and Matchup Notes

Overall: YSU leads 44-12 // Current Win Streak: Two by YSU // Last 10: 6-4
Home: 20-4 // Away: 19-8 // Neutral: 5-0 // Jarrett (career): 2-2

Last Season: Youngstown State won all six sets against RMU last season, sweeping the Colonials in Moon Township on Sept. 30, 2025, and in Youngstown on Oct. 28.

Recapping Last Week

YSU scores are listed first

Sept. 17 at Akron » L, 1-3 (25-20, 15-25, 13-25, 21-25)
Sept. 18 vs. Kent State » W, 3-1 (25-14, 21-25, 26-24, 25-16)

The Penguins split their final two matches of nonconference play last week, falling in four sets to Akron on Thursday and responding with four-set win over Kent State on Friday.
YSU beat Kent State for the third time in the last four years after being 4-22 all-time against the Golden Flashes before 2023.
Friday's match was much different on the defensive end for the Penguins compared with Thursday's contest. Akron hit .432 on Thursday on its home floor, and YSU held Kent State to a .191 mark. That was the lowest percentage by an opponent since Canisius hit .124 on Aug. 29.
The Penguins were also much better at serving in Friday's match with 11 aces and nine errors in the four-set victory. Against Akron, YSU had four aces and nine errors. Junior outside hitter Kylie Surratt recorded a career-high four aces against the Golden Flashes.
YSU continued to use the nonconference slate as a way to test different rotations and personnel combinations last week. Against Kent State on Friday, Ava Prince made her first start at setter, Wrigley Takats made her first start at right-side hitter and Juliana Rivera made her first start at libero. Setter Kameron Blizniak and right-side hitter Ava Stratton, who had started the first 10 matches, came in off the bench in each set as YSU ran a 6-2 offense. Takats took advantage of the opportunity by recording a career-high eight kills.
Sophomore outside hitter Layne Graffice continued her improved play last week by averaging 2.38 kills and hitting at a .250 clip. Graffice has reached double digits in kills in four of her last five matches and recorded a double-double in three of those five contests. She is averaging 2.95 kills per set over the last two weeks, up from 2.0 in the first two weeks as she battled an injury.
Junior setter Ava Prince recorded her 250th career assist in the match at Akron.
With her four sets against Kent State, junior defensive specialist Juliana Rivera tied her career high for most sets played in a season with 17.
Sophomore right-side hitter Ava Stratton surpassed 100 career kills in Thursday's match at Akron. She has 104 kills this season after posting 13 over 13 sets as a freshman.
With her four aces against Kent State, junior outside hitter Kylie Surratt upped her season aces total to 19. That's already the highest single-season total of her career. Her previous career high was 17 over 27 matches as a freshman at UT-Martin. Surratt also went over 700 career kills in the win over the Golden Flashes.

Penguins In Depth

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, posting a 10-4 record to tie the program record from 1999.

Records Fall in Season Opener

Two school records were set and another was tied in YSU's season-opening victory over Mercyhurst. As a team, YSU's 14 aces were the most in program history in a three-set, rally-scoring match, surpassing the previous mark of 11 at Canisius in 2022. Individually, Ava Prince tied the record for aces in a three-set, rally-scoring match with six, equaling the effort of teammate Brie Habeeb (2025) and Colleen Royer (2001). Ava Stratton set the individual record for hitting percentage in a match by hitting .857 with 12 kills on 14 attempts without an error.

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 2.42 kills and 0.51 blocks per set while hitting .276 after 11 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 five times, including four of the last six of conference play.

Surratt Among League Leaders

Kylie Surratt has had an impressive first four weeks at Youngstown State. A junior outside hitter who transferred from UT-Martin in January, Surratt currently ranks second in the Horizon League with 4.47 points per set, and she is third in the conference with 3.91 kills and 0.44 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.

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.

Strong Sophomore Class Looks for Second-Year Jump

Youngstown State's strong five-member sophomore class of Kameron Blizniak, Layne Graffice, Brie Habeeb, Izzy Henry and Ava Stratton is looking to provide the foundation for a solid 2026 and beyond. The group combined for 88 starts in 2025, and Blizniak and Graffice headlined the accomplishments by being named to the Horizon League All-Freshman Team. Blizniak started every match and set a new school record for the 25-point rally scoring era with 1,116 assists. Graffice was a six-rotation left side who averaged 2.67 kills and 2.60 digs per set in her freshman season.

Householder Returns After Record-Breaking 2025

Abbie Householder returns to the Penguins as a fifth-year senior after a record-breaking 2025 campaign. The outside hitter from nearby Canfield, Ohio, is YSU's career record holder with 1,457 kills and one of six players in program history with at least 1,000 career kills and 1,000 career digs. Her 1,345 digs rank second in YSU's career chart. 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.

Penguins Add Three Division I Transfers in January

Youngstown State added experience before the 2026 spring semester as juniors Ashlee Gnau, Kylie Surratt and Wrigley Takats arrived from Division I institutions. Gnau, a defensive specialist, played in 34 matches over two seasons at Syracuse. Surratt had two prolific seasons as an outside hitter at UT-Martin, posting totals of 539 kills, 392 digs and 77 blocks while being named to the All-Ohio Valley Conference Second Team as a freshman. Takats, a middle blocker and right side hitter who arrived from Eastern Michigan, recorded 60 kills and 58 blocks as a sophomore.

Freshman Class of Five

Youngstown State has a talented and position-balanced class of five freshmen on this year's roster. The group includes pin hitter Natalie Carr, defensive specialist Journey Nicola, setter Hayden Rodriguez, and middle blockers Korina Barber and Makayla Keibler. Nicola, Rodriguez and Barber are Ohioans, and Carr and Keibler are from the Pittsburgh, Pa. area. Carr and Keibler were club teammates with Pittsburgh Elite Volleyball, and Nicola and Barber both played club ball with Mintonette.

Penguins Slotted Sixth in HL Preseason Poll

Youngstown State was selected to finish sixth in the Horizon League this season in a preseason poll of the conference's 11 head coaches. YSU received 68 points in the poll, which was just eight points behind fourth-place Milwaukee. Sixth place ties the highest preseason ranking for the Penguins since they joined the conference in 2001. The top eight teams in the regular season will advance to the Horizon League Volleyball Championship on Nov. 19-22.

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

Following a nine-day break from competition, Youngstown State will play three Horizon League home matches in a span of five days. The busy stretch begins with contests on consecutive days against IU Indy on Oct. 2-3, and the Penguins will play RMU again on Oct. 6.