PITTSBURGH, Pa., – Sophomore outside hitter Bree Spangler notched her sixth double-digit kill performance of the season but ISU volleyball fell to Youngstown State, 3-1 (22-25, 28-26, 17-25, 24-26) Saturday afternoon at the AJ Palumbo Center in. ISU drops to 5-2 overall on the season and 1-2 on the weekend at the Robert Morris/Duquesne Invitational.
Spangler recorded 13 kills and 13 digs on the afternoon, but ISU hit just .125 in the four set match. Junior middle blocker Cassandra Willis had eight kills while senior middle blocker Kyla Thomas added seven.
In the back row, freshman libero Stephanie Bindernagel had a team-high 14 digs while sophomore defensive specialist Shannon Murphy racked up 12.
Youngstown State (6-0) put on a block party with 12 rejections in the contest and had three players with double-digit kills. The Penguins hit .224 for the contest and recorded 77 team digs.
“We've definitely felt weaknesses on the court in the past two matches, and we have a lot of work to do this next week because we have a quick turnaround to IUPUI on Tuesday,” ISU head coach Traci Dahl-Skinner said. “We are seeing some good things without younger girls but we just need to make some smarter decisions on the court for it to all even out.”
ISU led 13-10 early on in set one in but a seven point run gave the Penguins a four point edge. Sophomore middle blocker Melody Burdette laid one on the floor to cut the YSU lead to 19-21 and service errors put the set back in reach.
Spangler and a YSU attack error tied it up at 21-21 but a 3-1 run gave ISU a loss in set one, 22-25.
Freshman defensive specialist Danielle Waedekin started off set two with back-to-back aces.
The two teams battled closely throughout the second set, but a Nord dump gave her team a 10-7 advantage.
Another ace by Waedekin combined with attacking errors elevated ISU's lead to 16-12 forcing a Penguin timeout. But would take extra points for ISU to get the set two victory as a Thomas block and Bindernagel ace sealed the 28-26 win.
Set three went all YSU's way, breezing by the Sycamores 25-17. Three services aces and a .132 hitting percentage hindered any chances for ISU to make up lost ground.
The Sycamores kept it tight in set four, letting the Penguins battle back to a 13-13 tie. YSU looked as if it would easily take the third, with match point at 24-21. But a kill by freshman outside hitter Sarah Peterson and error by YSU brought ISU within one. However, back-to-back kills doomed ISU, 24-26.
Spangler was rewarded for her performance on the weekend with a spot on the all-tournament team. ISU continues its road swing with a single match at IUPUI on Tuesday at 7 p.m.
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