By Jordan Bond / The Jambar
In the span of five days, senior Abbie Householder turned the Horizon League Championship into her own personal highlight reel — and a farewell tour through the Youngstown State University record book.
The outside hitter became the first National Player of the Week in program history, swept the Horizon League’s top individual awards, set a career-kill mark and helped YSU advance to the conference semifinals for the first time since 2014.
The Penguins’ run ended with a sweep against Wright State University on Nov. 29, but the 3-0 loss closed the book on an historical season.
The American Volleyball Coaches Association named Householder the National Player of the Week on Nov. 18 — the first time in the 51-year history of YSU volleyball that a Penguin has earned the honor. It also marks the third time a Horizon League player has received the honor.
Head Coach Riley Jarrett said the national recognition was a reflection of who Householder has been behind the scenes.
“She’s very competitive, passionate, hardworking and just a leader by example,” Jarrett said.
For her season efforts, the HL named Householder its Player of the Year and Offensive Player of the Year, as well as a First-Team All-League selection. She led the Horizon League with 4.14 kills and 4.67 points per set, ranked fourth in aces per set and finished top-12 in hitting percentage and digs.
Besides Householder, junior Gabriela Machin joined her on the first team, while freshmen Kameron Blizniak and Layne Graffice landed on the All-Freshman Team.
Jarrett said the four award winners have been at the center of the program’s growth, but she gave credit to the team’s key returners and transfers.
“Our upperclassmen had really strong leadership and our new ones bought in right away,” Jarrett said. “We had a few key returners who were going to help lead us forward, and then a class of seven true freshmen that really stepped up.”
The ’Guins then headed to Truist Arena in Highland Heights, Kentucky, as the No. 3 seed in the HL Championship, opening against the No. 6 University of Wisconsin–Green Bay on Nov. 21.
In the five-set victory, Householder finished with 29 kills, pushing her career total to 1,413. She passed former Penguin Vickie Robinson’s long-standing program record of 1,408, which dated back to the late 1990s.
In the matchup, Machin posted a career-high 27 kills on 49 swings, while Graffice added 16 kills as the Penguins racked up 82 kills and hit 34.1% as a team. Blizniak also helped the team with 70 assists, a single-match school record in the current scoring format.
The following day, the Penguins faced the Raiders, the defending conference champions, who controlled the semifinal and swept the Penguins, 3-0.
Householder put down 14 of YSU’s 30 kills. Blizniak added 22 assists to cap a record-breaking season of her own, finishing with 1,116 assists — the most by a Penguin in the rally-scoring era.
Even with the loss, Householder was named to the Horizon League Championship All-Tournament Team on Nov. 23 after averaging 5.38 kills and 2.50 digs per set in the quarterfinal and semifinal.
For Householder, she said leaving a lasting legacy for incoming players is more important than the records.
“I’m hoping to leave behind the knowledge that we can be more than our past,” Householder said. “We’re capable of more than what we’ve done before, and that change can happen if everyone’s bought in.”