Sports

Youngstown volleyball heads to Purdue Fort Wayne for final matches of 2024

Youngstown volleyball heads to Purdue Fort Wayne for final matches of the 2024 season.
Youngstown volleyball heads to Purdue Fort Wayne for final matches of the 2024 season. YSU Communications

Youngstown State’s volleyball team will play its final two matches of the 2024 season this weekend at Purdue Fort Wayne.

The Penguins and Mastodons will play on Friday at 7 p.m. in a match that will be broadcast on ESPN+, and they’ll compete again on Saturday at 3 p.m.

Live stats will be available for both matches through links on YSUsports.com.

Match 1 at Purdue Fort Wayne

Match 2 at Purdue Fort Wayne

Recapping Last Week

Youngstown State began this four-match, season-ending road stretch last weekend with a pair of losses to Cleveland State. The Penguins went beyond 25 points with the Vikings twice in a 3-1 loss last Friday, and they fell 3-0 on Saturday.

Match 1: Friday, Nov. 8, at Cleveland State: L, 1-3 (29-27, 25-27, 20-25, 14-25) | Recap | Box ScoreMatch 2: Saturday, Nov. 9, at Cleveland State: L, 0-3 (15-25, 11-25, 18-25) | Recap | Box Score

  • Bianca Giglio posted her second career double-double in Friday’s match with 10 kills and 22 digs. The transfer from Marshall is averaging 1.22 kills and 2.13 digs per set this season.
  • Abbie Householder posted 16 kills and 17 digs in Friday’s four-set match, and she had five kills and eight digs on Saturday. She averaged a team-best 3.00 kills per set last week while adding 3.57 digs per set. Householder, a #HLVB Player of the Week on Nov. 4, has reached double digits in kills in 23 of YSU’s 28 matches this season. The junior outside hitter ranks second in the Horizon League in kills and points per set behind only Purdue Fort Wayne’s Panna Ratkai.
  • Householder increased her season kills total to 405 last week, and she has 464.5 points. Her kills total is tied for the eighth-most in a season in program history and she has the third-higehst total in the 25-point rally-scoring era. Householder ranks eighth on the single-season list in points, and her 4.55 points per set average is the seventh-best in school history. The junior went over 900 career digs last week as well.
  • Dayan Malave posted seven blocks over the seven sets, and she added 13 kills on a team-best .344 attack percentage. The fifth-year senior went over 250 career blocks in Saturday’s match, and she is averaging 0.86 blocks per set in her final season.
  • Nyia Setla led the Penguins with 37 digs last week for an average of 5.29 per set. Setla is averaging 4.28 digs per set for the season, which ranks eighth in the conference. She has the fifth-best digs-per-set average for a season in program history, and her 437 total digs are tied for the sixth-most for a season in school history. Setla has 2,666 digs in her five-year career, which is the third-most among all active players regardless of division.
  • Isabel Schaefbauer recorded her 2,000th assist as a Penguin last week against the Vikings, and she ranks ninth in program history with 2,024 in her career. She has 887 assists this season, which is the most by a Penguin since Val Jeffery had 1,004 in 2016.

A Glimpse at the Guins

Horizon League Leaders

  • Kesley Cooper - 7th in blocks per set (0.87), 21st in attack percentage (.225)
  • Abbie Householder - 2nd in kills per set (3.97), 2nd in points per set (4.55), 10th in aces per set (0.34), 14th in digs per set (3.23)
  • Dayan Malave - 8th in blocks per set (0.86), 15th in attack percentage (.235)
  • Teagan Ng - 13th in aces per set (0.32)
  • Isabel Schaefbauer - 5th in assists per set (8.70), 13th in digs per set (3.26)
  • Nyia Setla - 8th in digs per set (4.28), 15th in aces per set (0.30)

Milestone Watch

Scouting Purdue Fort Wayne

  • Purdue Fort Wayne is 15-14 overall and 8-8 in Horizon League play, and the Mastodons have clinched a spot in next week’s Horizon League Volleyball Championship. The ‘Dons won six out of seven matches from Oct. 11-29, but they’ve dropped their last four matches against Milwaukee and Wright State.
  • The Mastodons rank second in the conference with 13.40 kills per set, and they are also second with 12.75 assists per set and fourth in attack percentage at .212.
  • Redshirt-sophomore Panna Ratkai leads the Horizon League with 4.50 kills and 5.11 points per set, and she’s also third in the circuit with 0.40 aces per set. Jena Medearis is ninth in the conference with 0.91 blocks per set, and LonDynn Betts ranks sixth with 4.75 digs per set.
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Jessica Payne
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