Sept. 20, 2009
Three Finish With Double-Digit Kills as Penguins Fall to UMES in Five
Pittsburgh -- Three players finished with at least 11 kills, and the Youngstown State volleyball team played its best match in two weeks in a five-set loss to the University of Maryland Eastern Shore on Sunday at the Pitt Blue and Gold Tournament.
Two of the three sets that YSU lost went into extra points, including the deciding set that the Hawks won 20-18. YSU won the first and third sets 25-20 and 25-23, and UMES took the second set 28-26 and the fourth 25-21. UMES improved to 9-4, and YSU dropped to 2-9.
Ruth Boscaljon had 15 kills, Brittany Grove had a career-high 14, and Haley Kapferer had a season-high 11 for the Penguins. Setter Dani Soubliere added seven kills and 50 assists, and libero Laurie Shives had 19 digs.
Whitney Johnson had a match-high 26 kills for UMES.
UMES took a 5-1 lead in the fifth set and led the entire set until the Penguins tied the score 12-12 on Grove's kill. The Penguins had two match points, 15-14 and 18-17, but UMES ultimately won on back-to-back blocks from Thonya Joseph and Bella Romero.
YSU trailed 10-5 early in the first set but tied the score at 12-12 and capped a 15-5 run by going ahead 20-15 on a Kapferer kill. UMES got within two twice, but YSU scored the final three points of the match behind a service error and blocks by Boscaljon and Suzanne Lasseigne.
The Penguins did not trail in the second set until 16-15, and UMES led 23-20 to force a YSU timeout. The Penguins scored four straight points to have their first of two set points, but UMES got kills to stave off each and won 28-26.
YSU trailed just twice in the third set, and both times were by one, in its 25-23 win. UMES scored five of the final six points in the fourth set to win 25-21.