YSU beats Virginia, first ACC team since ‘02

YSU beats Virginia, first ACC team since ‘02

Evanston, ILL.

The Youngstown State volleyball team hit .370 in the fifth set to beat Virginia on Friday evening at the Northwestern Wildcat Classic. The set scores were 25-20, 22-25, 20-25, 25-22, 18-16. Lexi Egler posted 22 kills, and Nikki Thompson had 29 digs in the victory. Sam Brown and Lauren Thompson added double digits in kills, and Val Jeffery posted 54 assists. Jeffery and Egler both had double-doubles, and the Penguins hit .267 as a team.

The Penguins had 17 kills, including six from Egler, in the opening set to win 25-20. Virginia took the next two sets 25-22 and 25-20, but six more kills from Egler in the fourth set helped the Penguins even the match with a 25-22 win. YSU earned its first win over an Atlantic Coast Conference school since beating NC State on Aug. 31, 2002.

The Penguins improved to 8-2 on the year while Virginia dropped to 6-2.

YSU women’s soccer falls to Duquesne

Pittsburgh

The Youngstown State women’s soccer team dropped a 3-0 decision to Duquesne on Friday evening at Rooney Field. The Penguins fall to 3-3-1 overall while the Dukes improve to 2-1-2 on the year. Duquesne’s Maddie Layman score just 19:52 into the match to give the Dukes a 1-0 lead. Layman pushed the lead to 2-0 after a penalty kick in the 58th minute. Duquesne’s Michaela DiCianna finished the scoring with a goal at the 68:36 mark of the match.

The Penguins host Tiffin, Tuesday at 7 p.m. at Farmers National Bank Field.

Austintown Fitch football tickets on sale

AUSTINTOWN

Tickets will be on sale for the Austintown Fitch football game at Dover on Friday Sept. 19. They will be available at Aardvark and Select Sportswear Tuesday until Friday and at Fitch High School Thursday at the south circle ticket booth from 5-7:30 pm. and Thursday and Friday during all lunches. If you plan on attending, please purchase your tickets from pre-sale locations. Mercury sweep Sky for third WNBA title

CHICAGO

Diana Taurasi and Candice Dupree scored 24 points each and the Phoenix Mercury, playing without star center Brittney Griner, beat the Chicago Sky 87-82 Friday night to complete a three-game sweep of the WNBA Finals for their third championship.

DeWanna Bonner added 12 points for the Mercury, who also won titles in 2007 and 2009. Griner sat out following surgery to correct a retinal issue after she was hit in the right eye in Game 2.

Elena Delle Donne scored 23 points, Sylvia Fowles had 20 points and Allie Quigley had 19 for the Sky.

Taurasi hit a tiebreaking short jumper and was fouled with 14.3 seconds left and she made the ensuing free throw to put Phoenix up 85-82.

Delle Donne missed a 3-pointer with 12 seconds left, and the Sky fouled Penny Taylor, who made both free throws with 9.3 seconds left for the final score.

US take 1-0 lead over Slovakia in Davis Cup

HOFFMAN ESTATES, Ill.

John Isner used his thundering serve Friday night to beat Norbert Gombos 7-6 (5), 6-4, 6-2 and give the U.S. a 1-0 lead over Slovakia in their Davis Cup World Group playoff.

The 6-foot-10 Isner, ranked 16th in the world, hit 29 aces on the hard court at the Sears Centre, a facility about 30 miles northwest of Chicago.

Gombos, ranked 126th, was a surprise choice as Slovakia’s No. 2, but he showed his skills during a group quarterfinal in April when he made his Davis Cup debut and beat Austria’s Dominic Thiem.

But this time he had to fight off the powerful serves of Isner and managed only two break point opportunities.

Isner won the first set in a 7-5 tiebreaker when Gombos netted a volley and the hit long after a strong serve.

Staff/wire reports