Sept. 23, 2009

Volleyball Returns Home Hoping to Build on Solid Weekend

Notes | Gametracker: Loyola, UIC | Live Video on HLN | Interviews: Kapferer, Grove

Youngstown -- The Youngstown State volleyball team resumes Horizon League play with two conference matches this weekend, hoping to build on some momentum from last weekend.

The Penguins, although they lost both matches in five sets this past Sunday at the Pitt Blue & Gold Tournament, played their best volleyball in weeks. YSU was up 2-1 against both the University of Maryland Eastern Shore and Pittsburgh before falling.

Redshirt sophomore outside hitter Kelsi Bitter had 14 kills and hit .361 in the first major action of her career against Pittsburgh.

Against UMES, YSU turned in a season-high 14 blocks and hit .243, its best percentage since Sept. 5. The Penguins then turned around and battled Pitt with 12 blocks and a .213 attack percentage. Pittsburgh had already swept UMES and earned a four-set win over Valparaiso, a team that swept YSU on Friday evening. Highlighting the match against Pittsburgh was the third set in which YSU had a season-high 21 kills without committing an error.

Senior middle hitter Ruth Boscaljon continued her standout season by earning all-tournament team honors. She posted her first career double-double against Pittsburgh with 16 kills and a career-best 10 blocks. Boscaljon also had 15 kills and seven blocks earlier in the day against UMES. She needs just four kills to move into third place on YSU's career chart.

Scouting Loyola

Loyola enters the week with even records of 7-7 overall and 1-1 in the Horizon League. The Ramblers have been on a hot streak, winning six of their last eight matches. They lost five of their first six but rebounded to win five in-a-row. In league play, Loyola lost in four sets to Milwaukee in its league opener and swept Green Bay on Sept. 19. Junior middle blocker Colleen Francis has a team-high 157 kills, and junior outside hitter Katie Johnson has 142 as the only other player with more than 100. Mallory Curran leads the Horizon League in blocks per set, and Alyse Serritella heads the circuit in digs per set. YSU won both meetings with Loyola last season, a three-set sweep in Youngstown and a five-set triumph in Chicago. Loyola leads the all-time series 15-4 but has lost three of the last four. Loyola plays at Robert Morris on Thursday evening.

Scouting UIC

UIC was one of the biggest surprises during the opening week of the Horizon League schedule, going 2-0 against preseason favorite Milwaukee and Green Bay. The Flames, ranked eighth in the preseason coaches poll, improved to 6-8 overall with the undefeated weekend. They started the season 2-6 before winning four of their last six matches. Reigning Horizon League Defensive Player of the Week Epiphany Davis averaged 1.70 blocks per set last week. Junior outside hitter Casie Sullivan ranks sixth in the Horizon League with 3.13 kills per set, and three other players average more than 2.1. UIC defeated YSU three times last season, including a five-set win in the Horizon League Tournament. The Flames lead the all-time series 21-4.

Guins' 21 Kills Most in 25-Point Era

Youngstown State turned in arguably its best set over the best two seasons on Sunday against Pittsburgh. The Penguins erupted for 21 kills without committing an error against the Panthers for a .538 attack percentage. Three different players had four kills - Allison Heinz, Brittany Grove and Kelsi Bitter - and Ruth Boscaljon led the way with six. The 21 kills are the most by the Penguins since sets started ending at 25 points prior to last season.

The last time YSU had more than 21 kills in a set was when it had 24 versus Wright State on Oct. 12, 2007. YSU won that third set 30-21 behind 24 kills and two errors in 44 attempts. Boscaljon also had a big part in that set, finishing with five kills and one error in nine attempts. The Guins' highest kill total for a set this season prior to Sunday was 17 against Evansville on Sept. 5. YSU's highest last season was 18 against Howard on Sept. 6.

Boscaljon's Blocking Total Highest Since 2004

Senior middle hitter Ruth Boscaljon set a career-high with 10 blocks against Pittsburgh on Sept. 20. Three of the 10 were solo blocks, and seven were block assists. The last time a Penguin had 10 blocks in a match was Sept. 11, 2004, when Katie Shea had 10 in both matches of a doubleheader against UNC-Wilmington and Chicago State. Annie Buschur is the last player to have more than 10 in a match. She had 11 versus Robert Morris on Nov. 11, 2003. Buschur finished her career with 477 total blocks, the second-most in school history. Boscaljon currently sits fourth with 417, which is 60 behind Buschur.

Starting Line-Up Had New Look vs. Pittsburgh

The Penguins had a new combination of starters against Pittsburgh, and they responded with a gritty performance. Ruth Boscaljon, Allison Heinz and Haley Kapferer - all middle hitters by trade - were all in the starting line-up. Kapferer slid over to the outside to get all three into the line-up. Freshman setter Angela Roidt made her second start of the season, and Brittany Grove started for the fourth time. Sophomore outside hitter Kelsi Bitter received the most playing time of her career by far and finished with a career-best 14 kills.

Bitter Sweet in First Major Action

Redshirt sophomore Kelsi Bitter had to wait a long time to get a shot at major playing time, and she couldn't have seized the opportunity better on Sunday against Pittsburgh. Bitter, who had played in just eight sets in her first two years mainly because of injuries, played in all five sets against the Panthers. She finished with 14 kills, four digs and a block assist, and she turned in a team-best .361 attack percentage. Entering the match, Bitter had three kills, eight digs and a block solo in her entire career.