By Will Anderson / The Jambar
The Youngstown State University women’s volleyball team played in the Steve Baumrind Invitational from Sept. 12-14 — its final tournament of the regular season. The team went 1-2 in the tournament hosted by the College of Charleston.
The Penguins started the tournament against Charleston and lost 3-1. The Cougars won the first set 27-25 while the ’Guins bounced back in a close second set, where they won 25-21. The third set ended 25-12 in favor of Charleston, and despite a well fought battle, the Penguins fell 25-23 in the final set.
The Penguins had three players with double-digit kills, led by senior Abbie Householder, who had her sixth double-double of the season with 14 kills and 14 digs. Freshman Brie Habeeb led the team with 15 digs.
Youngstown State faced Stetson University on Saturday and lost 3-2, with three of the sets being decided by two points.
The Penguins started off hot, winning the first two sets, 25-23 and 25-11. The Hatters then won the following three sets 25-23, 25-23 and 15-11 to ultimately win the match. Householder had another double-double with 15 kills and 10 digs, while junior Gabriela Machin had 15 kills. Habeeb led the team again with 19 digs.
Youngstown State wrapped up the tournament with a 3-2 win Sunday against Quinnipiac University.
The ’Guins won the first set 25-20 before dropping the next two to the Bobcats, 25-21 and 25-20. The Penguins then battled back and won the final two sets, 25-17 and 15-12, to win the match.
Machin paced the team with 14 kills, eight blocks and eight digs. Sophomore Taya Nordmann also had eight blocks, while Habeeb once again led the team in digs — this time with 12. The win improved the Penguins to 5-4 on the season, their best start since 2022.
Head Coach Riley Jarrett had high praise for her team, especially the newcomers.
“A lot of good things that are happening for us,” Jarrett said. “Definitely a lot of young [players] that are stepping up, which is nice to see.” With the hot start, Jarrett said she has made sure to keep the team grounded.
“I always tell [the team] we really want to peak at the right time,” Jarrett said. “We want to make sure we’re continuing to focus on what our strengths are, what our weaknesses are [and] getting better at those.”
Youngstown State will wrap up nonconference play with two matches at home in the Zidian Family Arena at Beeghly Center.
The ’Guins will start tonight at 6 p.m. against the University of Akron with stats available at ysusports.com. Then, the team will take on Kent State University at 6 p.m. Sept. 19, which will be televised on ESPN+.
