YSUsports.com - Volleyball: Penguins Return Home for Two Weekend Matches

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Oct. 10, 2008

Penguins Return Home for Two Weekend Matches

    Youngstown -- The Youngstown State volleyball team returns home for two matches this weekend, hoping a return to the win column accompanies it.
    The Penguins (8-8, 1-5 Horizon) are coming off a three-week road stretch in which they dropped four in closely contested league contests. YSU's last win came on Sept. 20 at home in straight sets against Loyola, which upped its record to 8-4.
    YSU will invite two of the top three teams in the Horizon League to the Beeghly Center, playing host to league leader Milwaukee on Saturday at 4 p.m. and third-place Green Bay on Sunday at 2 p.m.
    The Panthers enter the weekend 12-5 overall and 5-1 in Horizon League contests. Their only league loss came to Green Bay in five sets on Oct. 3. The Phoenix is 8-8 overall and 4-2 in conference games.

October is "Think Pink" Month
    In conjunction with National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, the Youngstown State volleyball team will "Think Pink" for four of its home matches during the month. T-shirts and bracelets will be on sale for $10 and $2, respectively, to benefit Susan G. Komen for the Cure. The volleyball program will also collect names of breast cancer survivors and those who passed from their fight to be recognized later in the season.

First 12 Matches Different from Last Four
    After its victory over Loyola on Sept. 20, YSU was 8-4 and had won six of its last eight matches. The Penguins were hitting .240 as a team and averaging 12.29 kills per set. In their four-match losing skid, the Penguins are being held to a .152 attack percentage and are averaging 10.62 kills per set.

Barbosa Reaches 850 Kills, 900 Digs
    Senior Ebony Barbosa surpassed 850 kills and 900 digs in her career last weekend. She eclipsed 850 kills on Friday with six terminations against Butler, and she reached the 900 digs plateau on Saturday at Valparaiso. She currently has 863 kills and 912 digs.

Boscaljon Surpasses 300 Blocks
    Junior middle blocker Ruth Boscaljon reached 300 total blocks in her career last weekend by tallying nine at Butler and Valpo. She has 90 block solos and 223 block assists for 313 in her career. She ranks sixth in school history in total blocks, block assists and block solos, and her 1.08 blocks per set ranks third.

Double-Digit Blocking No Longer Indicator
Before the match at Butler on Oct. 3, the Penguins were 5-0 when recording at least 10 blocks as a team. The trend hasn't continued recently as YSU has lost its last three contests when it has posted more than 10 blocks. The Penguins posted 12 in a five-set setback to Butler, 13 in three sets at Valparaiso and 11 in three sets against Cleveland State.

Attack Percentage Down
The Penguins have hit under .200 as a team during the past three matches. Before hitting a season-low .110 on Oct. 3, they hadn’t hit lower than .200 since Aug. 30 at Ohio State and had just two sub-.200 efforts for the year.