Oct. 5, 2009

Guins Welcome In-State Rivals for Two Midweek League Matches

GameTracker: Wright State, Cleveland State | Live Video

Youngstown -- The Youngstown State volleyball team will welcome in-state rivals Wright State and Cleveland State to the Beeghly Center on Tuesday and Wednesday for two evening matches.

YSU will host Wright State on Tuesday at 7 p.m. and league-leading Cleveland State on Wednesday at 7 p.m. The Penguins are inviting teams from area middle schools and high schools to come to the two matches. YSU will sign its team poster after both matches, and the YSU Subway will have a special foot-long-sub-eating contest.

The Penguins will wrap up the first half of their Horizon League schedule at the conclusion of the two matches. YSU enters the week with an even 3-3 mark in conference matches following a split in Wisconsin over the weekend. The Penguins defeated defending Horizon League champion Milwaukee in straight sets on Friday, but they fell in four sets to Green Bay on Saturday. UWM had won 37 consecutive league matches at home, and YSU had not beaten the Panthers since 1993.

YSU got solid play from its back row in both matches, and libero Laurie Shives was named the Horizon League Defensive Player of the Week as the leader of the unit. Shives averaged a league-best 5.43 digs in the matches, and her 25 digs against Green Bay was a match high. She has registered double digits in kills in six straight matches and in 11 of the last 12. Brittany McNeal added a career-high 24 digs against Green Bay, and Brittany Holland notched a career-best 15 digs.

After this week, YSU will play six of its final eight Horizon League matches on the road. After Wednesday, the Guins will not play at the Beeghly Center until Oct. 30.

Scouting Wright State

Wright State enters the week with an 8-10 record overall and an 0-5 mark in Horizon League contests. The Raiders started the season 7-1 but have lost nine of their last 10. The Raiders defeated Evansville, who YSU fell to in five sets, on Sept. 11, and Saint Peter's on Sept. 12, but their only win since came against Duquesne on Sept. 19. Shaunda Sandifer has 238 kills and is hitting .350, but no other player with more than 100 kills is hitting above .174. Sandifer ranks third in the league in hitting percentage, fourth in kills per set and fifth in blocks. The Raiders swept the Penguins last season, but YSU beat Wright State at home in 2007.

Scouting Cleveland State

Cleveland State enters the week as one of three Horizon League teams with one loss in league play, but it is the only squad with four wins. The Vikings are 15-5 overall and have won 12 straight sets since losing in five sets at Butler on Sept. 25. CSU is holding opponents to a .148 attack percentage, which leads the Horizon League, and its .242 clip ranks second to Butler. Amy Benz ranks fourth in the league in hitting percentage (.342), and reigning league offensive player of the week Beth Greulich ranks fifth (.323). Jordan Goad ranks second in the circuit in assists with 10.39 per set, and Liz Fazio has a team-high 221 kills.

Shives Named Horizon League Defensive Player of the Week

Junior libero Laurie Shives is the reigning Horizon League Defensive Player of the Week after averaging a league-best 5.43 digs per set last week. Shives registered 13 digs in YSU’s sweep of Milwaukee and a match-high 25 against Green Bay. She also had just one receiving error in 47 chances.

Shives has registered double digits in digs in six straight matches and in 11 of the last 12. She ranks eighth in the Horizon League with 3.95 digs per set, and her 4.59 digs in Horizon League matches ranks sixth.

Ending Streaks vs. Milwaukee

YSU’s win over Milwaukee on Oct. 2 stopped several prolonged streaks. Milwaukee had won 37 straight Horizon League matches at home. The Panthers had also won 18 straight against YSU dating back to 1996.

On the flip side, the win gave YSU its first three-match winning streak of the season. It was also the second time in the last three seasons that YSU won three consecutive Horizon League matches.

Guins Look for Best First Half

With the first half of the Horizon League season ending for YSU on Wednesday, the Penguins have a chance to post their best start since joining the league in 2001. The Penguins are currently 3-3 and have already registered their third-highest win total in the Horizon League (five in 2007, four in 2008). They started 3-5 through the first eight matches in 2007 and extended that to a 4-5 start.

Most Blocks for Three Sets

The 13 blocks by YSU in its three-set sweep of Milwaukee on Oct. 2 was its highest three-set total of the season. It was only one behind the season-high 14 blocks the Penguins registered in five sets against UMES on Sept. 20. YSU also blocked 13 attacks in three sets at Valpo last season. The last time YSU had more than 13 blocks in a three-set match was Sept. 2, 2005, when it had 14 at Murray State.

Guins Much Improved Last Home Weekend

YSU played measurably better in its last two matches at the Beeghly Center than it did in its first two. The biggest difference was on the offensive end. The Guins averaged 14.44 kills per set and hit .301 in its matches against Loyola and UIC on Sept. 25-26. In the first two home matches against Butler and Valparaiso on Sept. 17-18, YSU averaged 9.00 kills per set and hit just .093. The Penguins also blocked much better with 2.11 blocks per set in the last two matches compared to 1.50 in the first two.

Best Digging Match at Green Bay

YSU registered a season-high 87 digs in its four-set setback at Green Bay on Oct. 3. Its previous high was 74 in five sets against Evansville. Libero Laurie Shives had a match-high 25 digs, and Brittany McNeal (24), Brittany Holland (15) and Brittany Grove (12) each set career highs in digs. The last time the Guins had more in a four-set match was when they had 100 against Wright State on Oct. 12, 2007.

Boscaljon Moves Up Career Blocking Charts

Senior Ruth Boscaljon continued her ascent up YSU’s career leaders list last week. She moved up to second in career solo blocks with 128, and she improved to third in block assists with 310. Boscaljon also ranks third in total blocks with 438.

Up Next

The Penguins will get a highly-desired eight-day break before beginning the second half of their Horizon League season. YSU will play at Valparaiso on Friday, Oct. 16, and at Butler on Saturday, Oct. 17. The Penguins were swept by both teams earlier this season.