SPORTS digest

YSU volleyball team wins on road in 5 sets

VALPARAISO, IND.

Sarah Varcolla posted her first career double-double, and the Youngstown State volleyball team rallied for a five-set victory at Valparaiso on Friday night. The set scores were 25-17, 16-25, 18-25, 25-23, 15-13 as the Penguins earned their first Horizon League win of the season.

After winning handily 25-17 in the opening set, the Penguins lost the next two sets and fell behind 23-19 in the fourth. YSU scored the next six points — three of which Varcolla was part of — to even the match, and the Penguins held on to win the fifth set 15-13.

Varcolla had 13 kills and a career-high 10 blocks, and Lori Vanbeek led all players with 16 kills. Sam Brown also had a double-double with 13 kills and 19 digs, and Lauren Blanco posted a match-best 23 digs.

YSU (7-10, 1-2) will try to sweep the weekend when it plays at Wright State at 4 p.m. today.

YSU men fourth at Joe Piane Invitational

South Bend, Ind.

The Youngstown State men’s cross country team finished fourth out of 24 teams in the Gold Race of the Joe Piane Invitational hosted by Notre Dame on Friday.

YSU finished with 142 points in the race while Utah Valley (114) took first, Duquesne (120) was second and IUPUI (141) was third. IUPUI is ranked seventh in the USTFCCCA Great Lakes Region poll this week.

In the team race, the Penguins finished ahead of notable schools such as Clemson, Illinois State, Indiana State, Oakland, UNI and Vanderbilt.

Leading the way for the Penguins was Ryan Sullivan who was eighth with a time of 24:44.7 in the five-mile race. Ethan Wilson finished 24th with a time of 25:18.8, Alan Burns was 27th with a time of 25:23.9, James Nedrich was 37th posting a time of 25:27.7, Dylan Dombi was 46th running a 25:38 and Tristan Dahmen finished 48th in a time of 25:38.5.

The women were 20th out of 28 teams in their 5K Gold Race. YSU finished with a score of 533 while Bradley won the team championship.

The top finisher for YSU was McKinsie Klim, who was 40th with a time of 17:56.9. Other finishers for the Penguins were Michelle Klim who was 59th with a time of 18:09.9, Jennifer Muhlenkamp placed 138th with a time of 19:01.8, Libby Rogenski placed 158th with a time of 19:06.2, Suzanne Koziol was 173rd with a time of 19:27.1 and Morgan Ansell was 180th finishing with a time of 19:32.2.

76ers’ Simmons breaks bone in his right foot

PHILADELPHIA

Ben Simmons has a broken bone in his right foot and its unknown how long the No. 1 overall pick will be sidelined for the Philadelphia 76ers.

Simmons was injured Friday during the final training camp scrimmage at Stockton University in New Jersey. The Sixers said Simmons rolled an ankle, and X-rays and an MRI revealed a fractured fifth metatarsal bone.

The Australian forward played at LSU last season. He missed time early during his stay with the Tigers while waiting for an ankle injury to heal, and also left an NBA Summer League contest in July after suffering cramps in both legs.

U.S. sweeps, Europe rallies at Ryder Cup

CHASKA, Minn.

The Americans swept the opening session of the Ryder Cup for the first time since 1975, then hung on to take a 5-3 lead after the first day at Hazeltine.

Almost as impressive as the Americans winning all the foursomes matches in the morning was the way Europe battled back. Henrik Stenson and Justin Rose atoned for their morning loss by making nine birdies in 13 holes to hand Jordan Spieth and Patrick Reed their first loss.

Rory McIlroy and rookie Thomas Pieters finished off the long, raucous day with a 3-and-2 victory over Dustin Johnson and Matt Kuchar. McIlroy ended it with a 20-foot eagle putt on the 16th hole, and he mockingly bowed twice to the crowd.

The United States also had a 5-3 lead at Medinah four years ago.

Staff and wire reports