Volleyball Goes 2-0 at the Red Flash Invitational

by YSU

Sunday, Sep 22, 2013 11:26 am

The Youngstown State volleyball team went 2-0 at the Red Flash Invitational on Saturday afternoon, beating Akron in four sets and sweeping host Saint Francis U at the Stokes Center.

The victory over Akron (25-10, 25-12, 25-27, 28-26) snapped a 28-match losing streak to the Zips dating back to 1985 and a 17-match skid against teams from the Mid-American Conference. YSU beat the Red Flash (25-19, 25-22, 25-23) for the second time in two weeks.

The Penguins led from start to finish in each of the first two sets as they cruised to a 2-0 lead over the Zips, but each of the final two sets were highly contested. Akron scored five of the first six points in the third set, and YSU didn't lead until a Missy Hundelt kill made it 10-9. The Zips reclaimed the lead at 14-13 and didn't trail the rest of the set.

There were seven ties and four lead changes in the fourth set, and YSU had to fight off a pair of set points after leading by four late. A block by Lauren Thompson and Nichele Johnson put YSU up 22-18, but Akron rallied to take a 24-23 lead. Hundelt had a kill to save one set point, and Akron had an attack error on the second to make the score 26-26. The Zips followed with two more attack errors as YSU won 28-26.

Alexis Egler and Hundelt both had 12 kills for Youngstown State, with Egler adding 15 digs for a double-double. Libero Erika West led all players with 21 digs, and Aly Ryan had seven blocks. Alex Cocklin had 11 kills and 10 errors for Akron.

YSU scored seven straight points in the first set when it led 17-14 en route to a 25-19 victory, but that was the only set where it led comfortably for most of the set. The Red Flash scored the first five points of the second set, but YSU again scored seven straight points to go up 7-5. YSU did not trail gain, and it didn't have a lead of more than three until a Shannon Watson kill make the score 21-17. The third set was tied as late as 15-15 when YSU scored four straight points. Watson and Hundelt had a block to cap the run. YSU led 24-21, and Egler's kill finished off the match.

Watson finished with nine kills and three blocks, and Ryan finished with five blocks. The Penguins ran the 6-2 offense for the first time this season with Casey D'Ambrose posting 15 assists and Jessie Gerig finishing with eight.

Youngstown State will have one more tune-up before Horizon League play begins when it plays at Robert Morris on Tuesday at 7 p.m. YSU's conference opener will be against Cleveland State on Friday at 7 p.m. at Beeghly Center.

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