Erika West | Photo by Ron Garchar

Youngstown State will start its 13th season of Horizon League play on Friday when it hosts defending champion Cleveland State at 7 p.m. at Beeghly Center. Live stats and live video for the match will be available through YSUsports.com, and admission is free.

The Penguins will enter the contest on a season-best three-match winning streak, following a four-set win at Robert Morris on Tuesday. YSU got 21 kills from senior Missy Hundelt and 14 blocks as a team in the win over the Colonials, who YSU head coach Mark Hardaway said played much better than their 0-14 record would indicate. Reigning Horizon League Defensive Player of the Week Aly Ryan had seven blocks, and the Penguins were balanced offensively with three other players joining Hundelt with double figures in kills. The win evened YSU's record at 7-7 against a tough non-conference schedule.

Cleveland State lost significant players from last year's squad that won the Horizon League regular season and tournament title, but the Vikings look to contend again after a 10-3 record in non-conference play. They went 2-1 last weekend at the James Madison Invitational with victories over Campbell and JMU and a three-set loss to Wake Forest. Middle hitter Maggie Hannon is the reigning Horizon League Offensive Player of the Week, and she leads the conference in kills while having the top attack percentage by far at .384. The Vikings rank among the top three in the conference in every significant team statistic.

YSU will step back out of conference play on Tuesday for a home match against Kent State at 7 p.m. The Penguins will then play league matches at Oakland and Wright State next weekend.

@YSUVolleyball Quick Hitters

• Mark Hardaway is in his second season as YSU's head coach. Last year he led the Penguins to a 15-14 record, their best since 1999.
• YSU is the top blocking team in the Horizon League with an average of 2.63 per set. Preseason Horizon League Defensive Player of the Year Jenna Cavanaugh leads the conference with 1.37 per set, Aly Ryan is fifth with 1.08 per set, and Missy Hundelt is sixth with 1.04 per set.
• Hundelt is the only player in the Horizon League who ranks in the top 10 in the conference in kills, digs and blocks. She's also third in aces.
• This is the first time that YSU has opened Horizon League play at home since 2009. The Penguins are 0-12 all-time in Horizon League openers.
• YSU's last win over Cleveland State came on Sept. 29, 2001.

Recapping Last Weekend and Robert Morris

W, 3-1 vs. Akron – YSU cruised to 25-10 and 25-12 victories in the first two sets and won the fourth 28-26 to beat the Zips for the first time since 1985. The Penguins had lost 28 straight matches against Akron. Alexis Egler recorded the 600th dig of her career in the match and tied for the team high with 12 kills. Erika West reached 900 career digs in the match as well.

W, 3-0 at Saint Francis U – YSU beat the Red Flash for the second time this season, the first time of which was Sept. 6 at Beeghly Center. Shannon Watson finished with nine kills, and the Penguins ran the 6-2 offense for the first time this season.

W, 3-1 at Robert Morris – Missy Hundelt had 21 kills and 15 digs, and the Penguins registered 14 blocks as a team. Aly Ryan was in on seven of those blocks as YSU outhit the Colonials .258 to .168. Hundelt notched her 200th career block, and Nichele Johnson had her 250th career kill in the win. The 21 kills for Hundelt were the second-most in her career for a four-set match behind only the 23 she had at Chicago State in 2011.

YSU Ups Strength of the Non-Conference Schedule

• YSU won't match its 10-4 record from last season's non-conference schedule, but the Penguins have played much tougher opponents in 2013.
• YSU's non-conference opponents in 2013 had an average RPI of 200 during the 2012 season. That's up from an average of 236.4 on the 2012 schedule.
• With a match against Kent State scheduled for Tuesday, YSU can still finish with eight non-conference wins. That would be the second-most for the program since 2006.

Hundelt Joins the 1,000th Kills Club

• YSU senior Missy Hundelt became the 11th player in school history to reach 1,000 career kills on Sept. 7 against Toledo.
• Hundelt's 1,103 career kills currently ranks fifth in school history, just 29 behind the fourth-place spot. She has her work cut out for her if she wants to catch Ruth Boscaljon's 1,340 kills that currently ranks third.
• Hundelt also has 931 digs in her career. Only four players in school history have surpassed 1,000 kills and 1,000 digs, the most-recent accomplishing the feat in 1999.

Playing at Full Strength

• Aside from normal bumps and bruises, Youngstown State is at full strength finally.
• Shannon Watson, a junior who can play in the middle or the outside, made her debut against Arizona State on Sept. 12 and is starting to round into form. Jessie Gerig is a setter who made her first appearance as a Penguin on Sept. 21 at Saint Francis U. She may allow YSU to run a 6-2 offense.

Egler's Increased Role

• Junior Alexis Egler had a much more productive non-conference season than in the first two years of her career.
• Egler is averaging 2.65 kills, 2.60 digs and 0.37 blocks, all of which are career highs, heading into Horizon League play. Last year she averaged 1.94 kills, 2.19 digs and 0.28 blocks in non-conference matches.

Ryan Bursting Onto Scene

• Sophomore middle blocker Aly Ryan has burst on the scene lately to become one of the Horizon League's top blockers.
• She ranks fifth in the conference with 1.08 blocks per set, and she's averaged 1.7 blocks per set over the last three matches.