The Youngstown State volleyball team hit .279 as a team and had three players register at least 11 kills in a 3-1 win over Loyola at the Halas Sports Center.

The Penguins recorded their first Horizon League victory as well as their first in a true road contest. YSU had a season-high 11 aces, and the attack percentage was its second-best of the year.

Freshman middle blocker Shannon Watson (Zoarville, Ohio) had a career-high 14 kills and hit .619, and Missy Hundelt (St. Charles, Mo.) had 14 kills and 12 digs.  Jackie Carlisle (Hubbard, Ohio) added 11 kills, and Bri Kern posted five aces and 17 digs. Freshman setter Brianna Bartlett registered 41 assists and 10 digs in her first career start.

Youngstown State hit .423 in the opening set and got four kills from Hundelt en route to a 25-21 win. Three straight kills – two by Carlisle sandwiching one by Hundelt – put the Penguins ahead 14-7.  Loyola climbed to within 15-14 following back-to-back errors, and the Ramblers had the deficit to just one on four more occasions. The final time was 22-21, but YSU got a side out on a service error and closed out the match with a block by Johnson and Missy Hundelt and a ball-handling error.

Loyola broke open a close set by ending the second set on a 9-2 run to knot the match at 1-1. Purcell had nine kills in the set for Loyola.

YSU led by four three times in the early going of the third set, but the Penguins had to continue to fight to take a 2-1 lead. Loyola cut the lead to one six different times, including 23-22. Hundelt answered with a kill for a side out, and Alexis Egler (Clarkston, Mich.) closed out the set with a kill.

The Penguins had six aces in the fourth set, including two from Erika West (Painesville, Ohio) to start the set as YSU scored the first four points. Loyola scored the next two points, but YSU answered with another 4-0 run, which included an ace by Kern. A Watson kill made the score 14-3, and Loyola never cut the deficit to single digits again.

Youngstown State remains on the road to play at Green Bay tomorrow at 7 p.m. Eastern.