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Vikings Get Past Penguins in Straight Sets
Wednesday, October 8 2008

Cleveland, Ohio -- Cleveland State worked around 11 Youngstown State blocks to defeat the Penguins in straight sets on Tuesday evening.

The Penguins blocked at least 10 attacks for the third straight match, but they also hit below .150 as a team for the third consecutive contest.

Ebony Barbosa and Ruth Boscaljon had nine kills apiece to lead YSU. Five of Barbosa's kills came in the final set, but the Vikings countered with 19 as a team.

Beth Greulich had 16 kills for CSU while Kayla Lefeld had 12.

The Vikings battled through two ties in each of the first two sets to win 25-19 and 25-21. Cleveland State won the third set 25-20.

The Penguins return home to play Milwaukee and Green Bay this weekend. They play host to the Panthers on Saturday at 4 p.m. and the Phoenix on Sunday at 2 p.m.

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Valparaiso Sweeps Penguins in Tightly-Contested Match
Saturday, October 4 2008

Valparaiso, Ind. -- The Youngstown State volleyball team came up just short in three close sets in a 3-0 loss to Valparaiso on Saturday afternoon.

Ruth Boscaljon had 11 kills and five blocks while Haley Kapferer had eight kills and three blocks for YSU.
Angie Porche tallied a match-high 14 kills to lead Valparaiso while Allison Sears finished with 11.

The Penguins led by as many as three at 10-7 in the first set before Valpo scored four straight points and never trailed again. The Crusaders led 22-17 before YSU scored four straight to get within one, and they eventually won 25-23 after YSU staved off two set points. Valpo hit just .042 in the set but held the Penguins to a .000 effort.

Valpo never trailed in the second set and scored the final three points to win 25-21. The Crusaders led 17-11 before YSU's late surge cut the margin to 22-21.

The Penguins jumped out to an early 8-4 lead in the final set but couldn't hold the lead in the 25-20 setback. Valpo tied the set at 10-10, and after falling behind 12-11, never trailed again. YSU trailed just 21-19 after a kill by Kapferer, but Valpo scored on four of the final five rallies. All of the points came on YSU errors - a ball handling error, an attack error, a blocking error and a set error.

YSU concludes its four-match road stretch on Tuesday at 7 p.m. at Cleveland State.

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Offense Cools Late as Penguins Falter at Butler in Five Sets
Saturday, October 4 2008

Indianapolis -- Youngstown State let a two-sets-to-one lead escape and dropped its second straight five-set match Friday evening against Butler.

The Penguins won both the second and third set 26-24 before going cold on the attack. YSU was held to .025 attack percentage in the fourth set and a -.120 in the final set.

Ruth Boscaljon had 14 kills but was forced into a season-high eight errors, including four in the final set as YSU committed eight as a team. Kaitlin O'Hara added 13 kills, and Laurie Shives had a team-high 27 digs.

Three players posted 18 kills for Butler, including Jessica Wolfe and Porshia Allen in double-double efforts. Kelsey Labrum also registered 18 kills and hit a team-best .314.

The Bulldogs and Penguins ranked first and second in the Horizon League in blocks entering the match, but Butler recorded the only block of the first set in its 25-20 win. O'Hara and Boscaljon each had five kills without an error as the Penguins hit a match-best .257. Butler countered with a .395 clip and got six kills from Allen.

The Penguins battled through 14 ties and five lead changes to win the second set 26-24. YSU hit just .128 but blocked six attacks in forcing Butler to commit 18 errors. Haley Kapferer had four of her match-high eight stops in the set while Karla Everhart and Tasha Reid had three apiece.

Kapferer blocked the final two attacks in the third set as YSU led by five three different times before Butler tied the score at 24-24.
Butler jumped out to a 7-1 lead and never trailed in the fourth set when it hit .297 and had 3.5 blocks en route to a 25-16 win. YSU cut the margin to three five times, including 17-14, before Butler pulled away.

The Bulldogs scored the first six points of the tiebreaker and never let the Penguins get closer than 6-2 before winning 15-8.

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Balanced Attack Comes Up Short in Five Sets at Wright State
Saturday, September 27 2008

Dayton, Ohio -- Youngstown State's four players to register double-digits in kills wasn't enough on Saturday in a five-set loss to Wright State.

Wright State countered with five players posting at least 10 kills, including a match-high 16 from Jessica Woods.

The match featured 31 ties and nine lead changes, all of which came in the first four sets before Wright State hit .471 en route to a 15-11 triumph in the final set.
Ruth Boscaljon registered 14 kills to lead YSU while Ebony Barbosa had a double-double with 12 kills and 15 digs. Kaitlin O'Hara turned in 13 kills while Tasha Reid posted 11.

Wright State trailed just once in the opening set and battled through 11 ties to win 25-21. Wright State used a 4-0 lead to take a 7-4 lead before YSU scored the next three to tie the score 7-7. The Penguins stayed within two and worked to a tie at 18-18 before a 4-0 run put Wright State ahead 22-18.

The second set was even tighter with seven lead changes and 16 ties before YSU prevailed 25-23. Neither team led by more than two until YSU's 3-0 run late gave it a 23-20 advantage. Wright State got within 24-23 before Barbosa's kill gave YSU the set win.

Wright State scored five of the first six points in the third set and never lost the lead in its 25-22 win. YSU tied the score three different times - the last time at 21-21 - before the Raiders went on to score four of the final five points.

The Penguins led for all but four points of the fourth set en route to a 25-19 win. They opened up an 11-3 advantage and held off a late Raiders charge that cut the margin to three.

YSU scored four straight points in the final set to cut a 10-5 deficit to one, but Wright Stat answered with a 3-0 run that carried it to a 15-11 victory.

The Penguins will stay on the road to play at Butler and Valparaiso next weekend. YSU plays at Butler on Friday at 7 p.m. and Valpo a day later at 5 p.m.

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Penguins Set for Horizon League Opener on New Rosselli Court
Wednesday, September 17 2008

Youngstown -- The Youngstown State volleyball team will play its Horizon League and home opener on Friday at 7 p.m. against UIC. The Penguins will also play host to league-foe Loyola on Saturday at 2 p.m.

The contests will be the first athletic competition on the new Dom Rosselli Court in Beeghly Center. YSU will honor the United States military during Saturday’s match in conjunction with the patriotic-themed "Senior Poster" promotion at the Penguins football game that evening.

The Penguins enter the weekend after spending three weeks on the road, having played in tournaments at Ohio State, Charlotte and Robert Morris. YSU is 7-3 and has won six of its seven matches this month. The hot streak was punctuated on Sunday with a four-set win over Big East member West Virginia, whom the Penguins defeated for the third straight season.

YSU has had a student-athlete honored by the Horizon League in each of the past two weeks. Senior setter Karla Everhart is the reigning offensive player of the week while junior Ruth Boscaljon earned top defensive honors last week. Boscaljon and Everhart are two of the more experienced players on the roster, but five players have made their collegiate debut for YSU this season. The back row is especially young with two freshmen and a sophomore getting plenty of playing time.

The Penguins will go back on the road after this weekend for four league matches. Their next home contest will be Oct. 11 against Milwaukee.

Scouting UIC
The Flames enter Friday’s contest with a 3-6 ledger after dropping all three matches last weekend at the Chicago Classic at Mother McAuley. Those three losses came against No. 1 Penn State, Louisville and Illinois State.
UIC was picked to finish fourth in the league standings after placing sixth in 2007. The Flames are ranked eighth in the Horizon League in hitting percentage (.165), average blocks (1.28) and kills per set (10.72).
YSU and UIC split the season series in 2007 with each winning at home.

Scouting Loyola
Loyola has been the surprise of the Horizon League in the early part of the season having already matched their win total from a year ago. The Ramblers have the second-best record at 9-2 despite being picked to finish eighth in the preseason poll. They won their first eight matches before cooling off to drop two of their last three.
Loyola ranks third in the league in kills per set (12.80), hitting percentage (.237) and opponent hitting percentage (.147). Three players average more than 2.5 kills per set.
YSU and Loyola split the 2007 series.

Everhart Earns Horizon League Offensive Player of the Week Accolades
Youngstown State senior setter Karla Everhart is the reigning Horizon League Offensive Player of the Week, earning the award for her helping YSU to a 3-1 record in four matches from Sept. 12-14.
She averaged 10 assists per set over the four matches, had 15 kills on a .342 hitting percentage, posted five aces, and recorded 36 digs. She registered a season-high 12 digs against Elon to start the week, and she had a solid all-around match against Saint Peter’s with four kills, 35 assists, three aces and eight digs. She then had a season-high seven kills, a solo block and an ace on match point at West Virginia.

Boscaljon Named League Defensive Player of the Week
Youngstown State junior middle hitter Ruth Boscaljon was the Horizon League Defensive Player of the Week for Sept. 1-7. She recorded 17 blocks in 10 sets during the week for a Horizon League-best average of 1.70. Boscaljon also helped the Penguins post a league-best 3.0 blocks per set. She was one block shy of a career high against Norfolk State, posting two solo blocks and six block assists in just three sets. She then had four blocks and nine kills in a 3-0 win over Howard, and she just missed her first career double-double against Charlotte with 10 kills, nine digs and five blocks.

Everhart, Boscaljon Stand Among League Leaders
Karla Everhart and Ruth Boscaljon each lead the Horizon League in at least one category through the first three weeks of the season. Everhart currently leads the Horizon League with 9.63 assists per set, and she is just 11 assists shy of the top spot despite playing five fewer sets.
Boscaljon holds a firm lead in hitting percentage as her .384 is .063 points higher than the No. 2 hitter. She also leads the league with 1.17 blocks per set, and her 3.54 points per set rank seventh.

Opening Up About Home and Horizon League Openers
Friday’s match against UIC will be the first time ever that YSU opens Horizon League play at home since joining the conference in 2001. The Penguins have never won their Horizon League opener - or their second league match - but have started 1-2 twice. YSU has twice won its first home league match since joining the league, defeating Cleveland State in four sets in 2001 and UIC in five sets in 2003. The win over UIC in 2003 was YSU’s last win in a home opener. The Penguins’ last victory in a conference opener came back in 1999 when it won at UMKC while in the Mid-Continent Conference.

Last Season vs. UIC
The Penguins and Flames each defended their home court last season to split the series. YSU won on Oct. 6 in Youngstown in four sets, but the final three were each decided by two points. Ebony Barbosa (16K, 17D) and Jessica Fraley (15K, 18D) both had double-doubles for the Penguins.

UIC battled back from a 2-1 deficit to win a five-set affair in Chicago on Oct. 26. YSU was held to a .165 attack percentage to offset double-doubles from Fraley (20K, 11D) and Abigail Drost (12K, 16D).

Last Season vs. Loyola
The Penguins also split the season series with Loyola with each team winning at home. YSU came back from trailing 2-1 to win 30-12 in the fourth set and 17-15 in the final set in Youngstown on Oct. 5. YSU held Loyola to a .123 percentage but hit just .100 itself. Jessica Fraley had 21 kills and 10 digs, and Ruth Boscaljon had 16 kills to lead YSU.

Loyola won in Chicago in four sets on Oct. 27. Boscaljon had 16 kills and Ebony Barbosa had a double-double with 12 kills and 12 digs. YSU had nine receiving errors and nine service errors in the match.

Boscaljon’s Numbers Help Penguins Rank Nationally
Junior middle hitter Ruth Boscaljon is also ranking among the national leaders. Her .384 hitting percentage ranks 42nd nationally, and her 1.17 blocks per set is the 65th-best mark in the country. Karla Everhart’s 9.63 assists per set also ranks 100th nationally.
Behind Boscaljon, the Penguins currently rank 44th nationally with 2.46 blocks per set and 76th in hitting percentage with a .240.

Boscaljon, Barbosa Eclipse 800 Career Kills
Junior Ruth Boscaljon and senior Ebony Barbosa both reached the 800-kill plateau over the weekend. Boscaljon’s 38 kills over YSU’s four matches gave her 818 for her career, which makes her the active leader. Barbosa had 23 kills last week to up her career total to 814. The two players have several more milestones in reach this season. Boscaljon can become the first player to reach 1,000 kills as a junior, and Barbosa, who also has 847 digs, is attempting to become the fifth player to finish with 1,000 digs and 1,000 kills.

Gray Has Solid Debut as Starting Libero
Freshman Amanda Gray made an immediate impact in her first weekend as YSU’s starting libero. She posted a team-high 45 digs and had just three receiving errors in 12 sets as the primary receiver. She posted double-digit totals in digs against West Virginia (17), Robert Morris (13) and Elon (10). Her 17 against West Virginia is the most in a four-set match by a Penguin this season, and the 13 against Robert Morris is the most in a three-set contest.

Kapferer, Reid Strong Early Up Front
Sophomore Haley Kapferer and redshirt freshmen Tasha Reid have performed admirably in their first year as starters. Kapferer has led the team in blocks in five matches and ranks fifth in the Horizon League in attack percentage (.299). Reid has accumulated 62 kills and 23 blocks as one of five players to play in every set so far this season.

Penguins Tie Best Start Since 1995
For the third time since 1999, the Penguins have started the season by winning seven of their first 10 matches. The most recent year was 2005 – the first under head coach Joe Bonner. The Penguins hit a wall that year and went on to lose their final 19 matches and finished 7-22. YSU was also 7-3 in 2001 and ended the year 10-18, and it started 7-3 in its 27-win season in 1999. The Penguins have had a better record through 10 matches only three times in school history – 8-2 in 1994 and 1995 and 8-1-1 in 1981.

Attack Efficiency Key for Penguins’ Solid Start
Although YSU has eight fewer kills (423-431) than its opponents through the first three weeks of the season, its attack percentage is 54 points higher (.240-.186). YSU has had 51 fewer miscues (161-212) than its opponents, and the kill difference is only eight despite YSU having 90 fewer attempts. The Penguins have collected 86 blocks, 38.5 more than their opponents, in helping the efficiency difference.

Penguins Top Mountaineers For Third Straight Season
Sunday’s four-set victory against West Virginia was the third straight victory for the Penguins over the Mountaineers. The two teams have played every year since 2001, and each team has won four of the eight meetings. YSU was victorious in 2001, WVU won from 2002-05, and the Penguins have won from 2006-08. WVU still holds a 10-5 advantage in the all-time series.

Five New Players Make Debut
More than one-third of YSU’s players have made their collegiate debut this year. Redshirt freshman Tasha Reid has started every match at opposite side hitter, and she’s totaled a solid 62 kills and 23 blocks. True freshmen Amanda Gray and Brittany McNeal have each played in more than 25 sets in the back row. Gray has started six matches - the last four at libero - and has accumulated 68 digs. McNeal has picked up 48 digs in 27 sets. Redshirt freshman Kelsi Bitter has appeared in seven sets as an outside hitter, and freshman outside hitter Brittany Grove made her debut against Saint Peter’s.

Bonner Earns 30th Victory
YSU head volleyball coach Joe Bonner collected his 30th career victory when the Penguins defeated Toledo on Aug. 29. He now has 36 victories in his career, all of which have come at YSU. He won seven matches in 2005, 10 in 2006 and 12 in 2007.

YSU Wins Tournament in Charlotte
The Penguins went 3-0 to win the Comfort Suites 49er Tournament on Sept. 5 and 6. YSU beat Norfolk State and Howard in straight sets then defeated host Charlotte in four sets to win the championship trophy. Three players were named to the all-tournament team - Ebony Barbosa, Karla Everhart and Haley Kapferer. Barbosa, a senior outside hitter, was named the MVP, collecting 29 kills, 27 digs and a .271 hitting percentage. Everhart, a senior setter, dished out 108 assists, had 17 digs and seven blocks, and she helped YSU to an impressive .292 team attack percentage. Kapferer, a sophomore middle hitter, had 28 kills, hit .415 and had seven blocks.

Barbosa Named MVP of Comfort Suites 49er Tournament
Senior outside hitter Ebony Barbosa was named the Comfort Suites 49er Tournament Most Valuable Player in leading the Penguins to the tournament title. The senior outside hitter had a team-high 29 kills, registered a .271 hitting percentage and trailed only libero Laurie Shives in digs with 27 in the three matches. She opened the tournament with nine kills, nine digs and a season-best .412 hitting percentage against Norfolk State. She then recorded her second double-double of the season against Howard in the second match, posting 12 kills, 10 digs and three block assists. The senior then had eight kills and eight digs in the championship match.

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Karla Everhart Named Horizon League Offensive Player of the Week
Monday, September 15 2008

Indianapolis -- Youngstown State senior setter Karla Everhart has been named the Horizon League Offensive Player of the Week, the league office announced on Monday.

Everhart's award follows Ruth Boscaljon's recognition as the league's top defensive player last week.

Everhart, a native of Elyria, Ohio, helped YSU to a 3-1 record over the weekend against three teams at the Robert Morris Tournament and at West Virginia. She averaged 10 assists per set over the four matches and now has 2,730 in her career. She also added 15 kills on a .342 hitting percentage, five aces, and 36 digs.

She began the week with a season-high 12 digs against Elon on Friday, and she had a solid all-around match against Saint Peter's with four kills, 35 assists, three aces and eight digs on Saturday. She then had a season-high seven kills, a solo block and an ace on match point at West Virginia as the Penguins beat the Mountaineers for the third straight season.

Everhart currently leads the Horizon League with 9.63 assists per set, and she is is just 11 assists shy of the top spot despite playing five fewer sets.

Everhart and the Penguins will open Horizon League play at home on Friday against UIC at 7 p.m.

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Balanced Attack at WVU Leads Volleyball to Sixth Win in Seven Matches
Monday, September 15 2008

Morgantown, W.Va. -- Three Youngstown State players had at least 10 kills, and the Penguins won for the sixth time in the last seven matches with a four-set victory over West Virginia on Sunday afternoon.

Kaitlin O'Hara had 12 kills and one error, and Tasha Reid and Ruth Boscaljon had 10 apiece to lift YSU to its third straight victory over the Mountaineers.

Boscaljon added five blocks, Karla Everhart had seven kills and 34 assists, and the Penguins committed just three service errors. West Virginia committed 11 service errors, including four in the final set.

YSU never trailed in the first set and outhit WVU .333 to .125 en route to a 25-18 win. YSU led 10-7 before scoring three straight points, and it never led by less than four the rest of the set. Boscaljon had four kills in the set while Reid, Everhart and Ebony Barbosa had three each.
The Penguins benefitted from 13 attack errors committed by the Mountaineers in the second set in a 25-15 victory. Reid had four of YSU's 10 kills.

The third set featured nine ties and five lead changes as WVU scored the final four points off a time out to win 25-23. YSU led 7-3 before WVU took its first lead of the match at 11-10. YSU scored three straight to lead 13-11, and the difference was never more than two either way the rest of the set. West Virgnia hit .355 compared to .100 for Youngstown State.

The teams traded three-point runs to start the fourth set, and YSU led by three on eight different occasions before WVU staved off three match points to tie the score at 24-24. O'Hara's kill gave the Penguins the serve, and Everhart put the match away with her first ace.

The Penguins will play their home opener and first Horizon League match on Friday against UIC at 7 p.m.

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Penguins Overpower Saint Peter's in Three-Set Victory
Sunday, September 14 2008

Moon Township, Pa. -- Youngstown State posted a .360 attack percentage and held Saint Peter's to a .090 mark in a three-set victory on Saturday morning at the Robert Morris Invitational.

The Penguins hit at least .320 in every set in recording their second-best percentage of the season. YSU will play at West Virginia on Sunday in its final tune-up for the Horizon League portion of the schedule.
Ruth Boscaljon had 11 kills and three blocks, and Allison Heinz had six kills in eight attempts. YSU improves to 6-3 with the victory while Saint Peter's falls to 3-5.

Tasha Reid added six kills, and Karla Everhart had four kills and 35 assists.

The Penguins held a .324 to .059 hitting percent advantage in the first set en route to a 25-16 win, and they took the second set 25-15. In the final set, YSU won 25-10 behind a .480 to .-040 edge.

The Penguins and Mountaineers will start at 1 p.m.

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Boscaljon Earns League Defensive Player of the Week Accolades
Wednesday, September 10 2008

Indianapolis -- Youngstown State junior middle hitter Ruth Boscaljon has been named the Horizon League Defensive Player of the Week.

Boscaljon was a major presence at the net in helping YSU win the Comfort Suites 49er Tournament last weekend.
She recorded 17 blocks in 10 sets during the week for a Horizon League-best average of 1.70. Boscaljon also helped the Penguins post a league-best 3.0 blocks per set last week.

The junior was one block shy of a career high against Norfolk State, posting two solo blocks and six block assists in just three sets. She then had four blocks and nine kills in a 3-0 win over Howard, and she just missed her first career double-double in the championship match against Charlotte with 10 kills, nine digs and five blocks.

Boscaljon leads the league with 27 blocks this season, and she now has 270 in her career. YSU as a team leads the league with 2.45 blocks per set.

Boscaljon and the Penguins will compete at the Robert Morris Invitational on Friday and Saturday.

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Barbosa Named MVP as Penguins Win Comfort Suites 49er Tournament
Sunday, September 7 2008

Charlotte, N.C. -- The Youngstown State volleyball team used a season-high 13 blocks and another solid overall attack to defeat Charlotte in four sets and capture the Comfort Suites 49er Tournament title on Saturday evening.

Tournament MVP Ebony Barbosa had eight kills and eight digs for the Penguins, who dropped just one set the entire weekend. Barbosa was joined on the all-tournament team by sophomore Haley Kapferer and senior setter Karla Everhart.
Barbosa registered a team-high 29 kills during the three-match tournament and trailed only libero Laurie Shives in digs with 27.

Kapferer had 28 kills and hit an impressive .415 to go along with seven blocks for the weekend. Everhart dished out 108 assists, had 17 digs and also had seven blocks.
The Penguins' were so well-rounded over the weekend that the all-tournament team didn't have enough room for their top two hitters in the championship match. Kaitlin O'Hara had a season-high 14 kills, and Ruth Boscaljon wrapped up an impressive tournament with 10 kills and a .429 hitting percentage.

After trailing only twice in the previous two matches of the tournament, YSU battled through nine lead changes and 17 ties against the host 49ers. The Penguins won the first set 25-17, and they took the third and fourth set 25-22 and 25-20 after falling 25-21 in the second.

Charlotte led 1-0 and 6-5 in the opening set before YSU scored four straight points and never relinquished the lead. O'Hara and Barbosa recorded three kills apiece, and YSU registered five blocks and forced the 49ers into 13 attack errors.

The 49ers used a 6-0 to take a 12-7 lead in the second set on the way to a 25-21 win. The 49ers led by as many as eight in the set at 19-11 before YSU regained some momentum to make it close.

Charlotte jumped out to a 10-4 lead in the third set before YSU slowly chipped away and tied the score at 15-15 on O'Hara's kill. Kapferer connected on a kill to give the Penguins their first lead at 17-16, and the Penguins scored the final four points of the set off a time out to hang on for a 25-22 win.

YSU led 12-7 in the fourth set before Charlotte battled back to tie the score at 18-18. O'Hara answered with a kill to put the Penguins back on top, and Tasha Reid and Boscaljon recorded the 13th block of the match on the first championship point.

The Penguins will play in their final regular-season tournament next weekend at the Robert Morris Invitational.