YSU VOLLEYBALL Penguins boast young squad

Fitch graduate Stacie Mang is a walk-on participant.
YOUNGSTOWN -- With only two seniors, three returning starters and an influx of six newcomers, YSU volleyball coach Joe Conroy enters this season with one of the youngest and greenest squads in his 13 years with the Penguins.
Conroy will try to fuse the seasoned veterans and the talented freshmen into one solid and cohesive unit.
"Our emphasis will be incorporating our new and younger players into our offensive attacking system," Conroy said. "But at the same time, we need to get them accustomed to blocking and playing defense at the collegiate level."
According to Conroy, the Penguins must continue to be solid at the net and in the back row and improve their attack.
Keys to success
"For us to be successful, we have to be a strong blocking and passing team, and I think we will be," Conroy said. "But we must also get the ball to our hitters and they have to be able to put the ball away.
"I want us to be a very well-rounded team, but for us it starts with blocking and passing," Conroy said.
Although the Penguins lost 1,000-kills club member Colleen Royer to graduation, they will be strong at outside hitter.
Senior Melanie Pounders returns to the outside after spending last season in the middle. Pounders played on the left side as a sophomore.
Pounders had a career-best 250 kills last year (2.36 per game) and was one of the top blockers in the Horizon League, ranking fourth with 1.23 blocks per game. Her 130 total blocks last year ranks seventh in school history.
Leslie returns
Sophomore Cari Leslie also returns on the outside for the Penguins. She had 169 kills and 287 digs last season.
Freshman Jessica Fraley, a second-team All-Ohio selection last year and two-time district player of the year, and freshman Sarah Wellner could also see time at outside hitter.
Junior Angie Pasquinelli, a member of the 2002 Horizon League All-Newcomer Team, will run the offense for the third straight year.
Pasquinelli split the setting duties last season with former Penguin Beth Boscarelli and averaged 6.65 assists per game. Pasquinelli recorded 1,011 assists as a freshman -- seventh-best in school history.
Mang will be back up
Junior college transfer Mekinzie King and walk-on Stacie Mang, an Austintown Fitch High graduate, will back up Pasquinelli. King, who can also play on the outside, had 358 assists at Southern State College last season and 281 kills.
The Penguins suffered a loss with the graduation of former Penguin Annie Buschur, who had 325 kills and 134 blocks last season.
In an effort to fortify the middle, Conroy signed Brittany Abel, who earned honorable mention All-Ohio in Division I last year. She'll join juniors Abby Ettenhofer and Katie Shea.
Ettenhofer averaged 1.37 kills per game while Shea had 0.42 blocks per game last season.
There's little experience on the right side of the net.
Senior Lori Lyman, who suffered through two seasons of chronic knee injuries, returns but her status is still questionable.
Last season, Lyman averaged 1.88 kills per game in 90 games and also averaged 0.91 blocks per game.
Junior Crystal Duncan should also see time on the right side.
The back row play of Amanda Cindric, Leslie and Janelle McDonald impressed the Penguins coaching staff a year ago and much of the same is expected this fall.
Leslie finished second on the team with 2.87 digs per game, Cindric added 2.03 digs per game while McDonald collected 1.40 digs per contest. Navy transfer Brandice Miller, who may also see time at outside hitter, is also expected to appear in the back row.