BUFFALO, N.Y. – Junior outside hitter Katlyn Tyler was the Canisius Volleyball team's (1-7) most efficient player, but it wasn't enough as the Youngstown State Penguins (4-4) defeated the Griffs, 3-1 in the Blue and Gold's home opener. Tyler finished the match with 16 kills and just one error for a .517 hitting percentage.

“I loved Katlyn Tyler's play today,” head coach Cathy Hummel said. “That's the style of play, in terms of approach, that I want all my players to have. She the mind set that 'I'm going to score a point every time I swing at it,' and she did a phenomenal job along with Lauren Siebert today. “

Youngstown State opened up the match with an impressive 25-16 win to take the lead early. Canisius tightened things up in the second frame but still fell 25-23.

The Griffs staved off a loss in the third set, riding a 10-0 run thanks to freshman Julia Hrycyk who was the squad's server during the run. The Penguins bounced back in the fourth set however and downed the Griffs 25-18 to take the  match.

Offense was on display for both sides as Youngstown State sported a .292 hitting percentage with 48 kills and just 15 errors, while Canisius hung with the Penguins with a .224 hitting percentage and 49 kills and 13 errors.

Aside from Tyler's 16 kills, Lauren Siebert posted strong numbers as well recording 12 digs and one error for a .524 hitting percentage. Grace Streicher had 32 assists and 12 digs to record the team's only double-double.

For the Penguins Aly Ryan and Sam Brown recorded double-figure kills with 11 and 14, respectively. Val Jeffery paced the squad with 39 assists and Nikki Thompson led the team with 16 digs.

With the squad down 2-0 to Youngstown State, the Golden Griffins opened up the third set with a 10-0 run on the back of Hycyk. Canisius made it 13-3 before Youngstown State gained a little bit of traction pushing the score to 15-7. The Blue and Gold maintained momentum through the frame going on a 10-6 run to end the set 25-16, before eventually dropping the fourth stanza and the match, 3-1.

“The main thing for us to focus is to stay true to the process,” Hummel said. “ We need to keep the belief that we are talented team. We do need to get our game together sooner rather then later, we're running out of runway but we've got some talent in the gym and we just need to put it all together.”

The Griffs have one more non-conference road tournament this coming weekend when the squad travels to Kingston, R.I. to play in the Art Carmichael Invitational on Friday and Saturday. Canisius is slated to play Rhode Island at 2 p.m. and Sacred Heart at 5 p.m. They will wrap up the tournament against Lehigh at noon.