By Kaylie Moore / The Jambar
The Youngstown State University volleyball team defended its home court against the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee on Oct. 24, then again Oct. 25, at Zidian Family Arena inside Beeghly Center.
The Penguins started out their first game against the Panthers with high energy and led all three sets the entirety of the game, scoring 25-16 in set one, 25-12 in set two and 27-25 in set three.
The Penguins and Panthers fought hard in the third set until senior Abbie Householder delivered the final kill to close out the game, 27-25.
During the course of the first match, Householder assisted the Penguins with 11 kills and 17 digs.
Junior Gaberiela Machin posted 13 kills and helped the Penguins to an overall 45 to 32 kill ratio over the Panthers.
The Penguins led across the board with 51 points, whereas the Panthers had 41 points.
Then, Oct. 25, the Penguins emerged victorious in all three sets against the Panthers once more.
The Penguins once again had big leaders across the board. Householder posted 14 kills, 13 digs and four aces. Freshman Layne Graffice and Machin also put up major stats to help lead the Penguins to victory offensively — a combined number of 19 kills between the both of them.
For Householder’s efforts, she earned the Horizon League Volleyball Player of the Week Award on Oct. 27.
Defensively, sophomore Taya Nordmann helped the Penguins behind the net with six blocks. Offensively, freshman Kameron Blizniak delivered 39 assists for Youngstown State.
Throughout three sets, the Penguins led set one with a final score of 25-18, set two with 28-26 and set three with 25-17.
In addition to the sweeps, the Penguins ended up setting a Horizon League record with a 31.3% in attack percentage — breaking the 21.6% record that Green Bay held since 2022.
Youngstown State moves to an 11-11 overall record and 6-5 in Horizon League play.
The Penguins will take on Robert Morris University at 6 p.m. Oct. 28 at the UPMC Events Center in Moon Township, Pennsylvania.