Jenna Cavanaugh | Photo by Regina Thompson

The Youngstown State volleyball team will host Kent State in the final non-conference match of the season on Tuesday before heading on the road for Horizon League matches at Oakland and Wright State over the weekend. Tuesday's match at Beeghly Center will begin at 7 p.m., and the weekend road matches will begin at 5 p.m. and 4 p.m., respectively. Live video and live stats will be available for all three matches through links on YSUsports.com

The Penguins have won four straight matches dating back to Sept. 21, and they are coming off an exciting sweep of defending Horizon League champion Cleveland State at home on Friday. Horizon League Offensive Player of the Week Missy Hundelt and Alexis Egler both had 10 kills in the victory, which was YSU's first over the Vikings since 2001. Hundelt also had 21 kills and 15 digs in the four-set win over Robert Morris last Tuesday. YSU is now 8-7 overall with their four-match winning streak, which has immediately followed a stretch where the Penguins lost six out of seven matches.

Kent State has won six of its last eight matches to even its record at 7-7. The Golden Flashes have beaten two of YSU's previous opponents, topping Robert Morris in three sets and Akron in five. Oakland and Wright State both went winless at Milwaukee and Green Bay last weekend to start Horizon League play. The Golden Grizzlies, in their first year in the Horizon League, are 6-10 overall. The Raiders have already surpassed last season's win total at 6-13 but have lost their last five contests.

Youngstown State will host preseason league favorite Valparaiso and UIC next weekend at Beeghly Center.

@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.
• The Penguins will be looking to beat Kent State, Akron and Cleveland State in the same season for the first time in school history.
• YSU's last win over Kent State came in 1995, although the programs have played just three times since then – in 2007, 2010 and 2011.
• YSU is the top blocking team in the Horizon League with an average of 2.62 per set. Preseason Horizon League Defensive Player of the Year Jenna Cavanaugh leads the conference with 1.36 per set, Aly Ryan is fifth with 1.07 per set, and Missy Hundelt is sixth with 1.02 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 first in aces.

Recapping Last Week

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.

W, 3-0 vs. Cleveland State – Missy Hundelt and Alexis Egler had 10 kills apiece, and YSU held the league's top offensive team to a .100 attack percentage in a sweep. Erika West had 16 digs, and Jenna Cavanaugh had four blocks to lead the defense. It was the Guins' first victory over Cleveland State since 2001 and their first sweep of the Vikings since 1995. YSU took the first two sets 25-19 and 25-20, and it led 24-18 in the third set before having to hold off the Vikings in a 28-26 win. YSU won its Horizon League opener for the first time since joining the conference in 2001.

Significance of Cleveland State Victory

• While any conference victory is important, the win over Cleveland State on Friday caused the Penguins to feel an extra sense of accomplishment.
• YSU's group of seven seniors had not taken a set from the Vikings in their careers in six previous matches. In fact, YSU as a program had won three sets combined in the last 13 contests with the Vikings.
• Cleveland State won the Horizon League regular season and tournament titles last season and was picked to finish second – five spots ahead of YSU – in the preseason coaches poll.

YSU Finishes up Strong Non-Conference Schedule

• Tuesday's match against Kent State will be the final contest of the non-conference slate. If YSU can beat Kent State, it will finish with eight non-conference wins. That would be the second-most for the program since 2006.
• 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.

Hundelt Closing In on 1,000 Digs

• YSU senior Missy Hundelt needs 55 digs to become the 12th player in school history to record 1,000 in her career. Hundelt enters this week with 945 digs, which ranks 16th in school history.
• On Sept. 7 against Toledo, Hundelt became the 11th player in school history to reach 1,000 career kills. She currently ranks fifth in school history with 1,113 kills.
• Only four players in school history have surpassed 1,000 kills and 1,000 digs, the most-recent accomplishing the feat in 1999.