Penguin News
Volleyball Falls to Valparaiso in Horizon League Semifinals
by YSU
Sunday, Nov 24, 2013 10:02 pm
The Penguins finish the season 16-15 for their highest win total since 1999. Valparaiso moves on to play Milwaukee in the championship match on Sunday. The set scores were 25-19, 25-19, 25-16.
Valparaiso held the Penguins to 26 kills and used aggressive serving to disrupt YSU throughout the evening. The Crusaders outhit YSU .211 to .051 and registered 20 more digs.
Alexis Egler led the Penguins with nine kills and 13 digs, while seniors Jenna Cavanaugh and Nichele Johnson both had five kills in their final match for YSU. They, along with classmates Jackie Carlisle, Casey D'Ambrose, Chelsea Guerrieri, Missy Hundelt and Erika West, led the Penguins to 31 wins over the past two seasons after the program had seven combined victories the two years prior.
"Valparaiso played outstanding defense tonight, and we never got in rhythm long enough to make a run," YSU head coach Mark Hardaway said. "I want to thank our parents, fans, administration, support staff, my assistants and everyone who supported us this season."
"I want to thank this team for all of its hard work and for believing. Most of all, I want to thank our seniors who gave us their sweat and their trust. I am so proud of what they have done."
Sarah Dooms had 13 kills and 14 digs for Valparaiso.
Youngstown State had to play catch-up in all three sets as the Crusaders built early leads.
Valparaiso scored four of the first five points of the match and eventually built a 13-7 lead after a Kelsey Victory kill. YSU scored the next two points on back-to-back Valpo attack errors, but the Crusaders countered with three straight points as part of a 6-2 run to go ahead 19-11. YSU battled back to a 22-18 deficit after a Cavanaugh and Shannon Watson block, but that's as close as it would get.
Three straight kills by Emily Campbell put Valparaiso ahead 10-4 in the second set, but YSU stormed back to tie the score at 14 following an Egler kill. Dooms had back-to-back kills as part of a three-point run for Valpo, and the Crusaders led by at least two the rest of the set. YSU trailed just 20-18 before Valparaiso scored five of the final six points of the set.
Valparaiso went on a 5-1 run to take an 11-6 lead in the third set, and it used a 9-2 spurt to go up 20-9. YSU got no closer than 23-16.
Hundelt, who missed the final 14 matches with a knee injury, finished her career with 1,125 kills, the fifth-most in program history. D'Ambrose's 2,658 assists were the fifth-most in school history, and Cavanaugh's 371 blocks were the sixth-most in school history. West's 1,151 digs in three years were the 10th-most in program history.
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