(GREEN BAY ATHLETICS) KALAMAZOO, MICH – The Green Bay volleyball team fell in its season-opening match on Friday on the road at Western Michigan, 3-1. The two teams battled, with the Phoenix nearly forcing a fifth set before falling 27-25 in the fourth set.
The Phoenix attack was paced by Gillian Koning, who finished with 14 kills on the day, and by Diane Pichelman, who had 13 while hitting .423. GB got 15 digs from Macy Kline along with five blocks from Olivia Neumann to lead them defensively.
“Western Michigan is a really good team with a lot of firepower, and they know how to win,” said head coach Abbey Sutherland. “They’ve been very successful over the past several years, so this was a great, challenging first match for us and one we’re going to learn a lot from. I actually see some similarities between our team and theirs, and I think there’s a lot we can take away from how they compete and play.”
Sutherland continued, “I was proud of how hard our team fought. We’re going to keep working on playing with guts, putting pressure on our opponents, and trusting ourselves in big moments. I’m really excited about this group and where we’re headed.”
HOW IT HAPPENED
SET 1 | The Phoenix found themselves in an early hole, dropping a tough first set 25-18. Green Bay trailed by as many as eight points as Western Michigan never surrendered the lead after starting off 6-2.
SET 2 | Green Bay fired back after dropping the first set to take set two 27-25, evening the match at 1-1. The Phoenix took the set with the help of a strong performance on the attacking side. Green Bay put together a .314 attack percentage with 17 kills in the set win. GB opened up a 15-10 lead in the frame and coasted to victory from there. Green Bay’s front row had a solid defensive performance, blocking four Western Michigan attacks.
SET 3 | Western Michigan responded to win set number three, putting Green Bay in a two-set-to-one hole. The Phoenix lost the first point and never clawed back into the lead, losing the set 25-11.
SET 4 | The two teams battled in the fourth set, trading points back and forth before GB took a 23-20 lead. The Broncos responded by scoring seven of the final nine points en route to a 27-25 win to close out the match.
GAME NOTES
» Riley Schmitz had a team-high two aces in the loss.
» Green Bay attackers were helped by a team-high 38 assists from Alexa Hernandez.
COMING UP
The Phoenix will look to bounce back and grab its first win of the season tomorrow when they take on Indiana State at 2 p.m. Following that, GB will close out the weekend against Navy on Sunday at 10 a.m.
Comments