Hundelt, Blocks Lead Penguins to Four Set Victory at Robert Morris

by YSU

Wednesday, Sep 25, 2013 7:59 am

Moon Township, Pa. -- Youngstown State senior Missy Hundelt had 21 kills and 15 digs, and the Penguins registered 14 blocks in a four-set win (22-25, 26-24, 27-25, 25-18) at Robert Morris on Tuesday evening at the Sewall Center.

The Penguins hit .258 as a team and held the Colonials to .168 overall despite allowing them to hit .303 in the first set. Reining Horizon League Defensive Player of the Week Aly Ryan was a big part of the effort with seven blocks, and Alexis Egler and Jenna Cavanaugh had five blocks apiece. Casey D'Ambrose finished with 47 assists, and Egler added a double-double with 10 kills and 11 digs to go along with her five blocks.

Arden Fisher had 15 kills and 17 digs for Robert Morris, which fell to 0-14 on the season. YSU's record improved to 7-7 heading into Horizon League play on Friday.

The Colonials did not trail in the first set in winning 25-22, and they led the second set 22-19 when the Penguins' block started to come alive. Ryan assisted on two straight blocks to cut the margin to one, and Cavanaugh and D'Ambrose combined on blocks once the score was tied at 24-24 to finish the set.

YSU's three blocks in the third set came after Robert Morris took a 22-21 lead. Egler was part of two straight blocks to give YSU the lead, and Ryan and Shannon Watson had a block on set point. Hundelt had seven of her kills on 10 attempts in the third set. The teams combined for 19 ties and nine lead changes in the set.

A Hundelt kill capped a 4-0 run for YSU that gave it an 11-9 in the fourth set, and YSU did not trail again. The Penguins allowed the Colonials to tie the score at 12 before opening up a 20-14 lead en route to a decisive victory.

Youngstown State will open Horizon League play on Friday at 7 p.m. against Cleveland State at Beeghly Center.

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