(GREEN BAY ATHLETICS) EVANSTON, ILL – The Green Bay volleyball team defeated the Virginia Tech Hokies in five sets (26-24, 23-25, 25-16, 21-25, 15-9) Saturday at Welsh-Ryan Arena at the Northwestern Invitational. The non-conference victory over the ACC foe improved Green Bay’s overall record to 4-4 on the season.
The Phoenix offense was paced by Diane Pichelman, who finished with 17 kills on the day while accumulating a hitting percentage of .444. Kelsey Justman added 15, and Kirsten Fish chipped in with 11 as part of a Green Bay attack that had four players with double-digit kills. Gillian Koning also had 10 kills for the Phoenix attack. Defensively, GB had three players reach double figures in digs, including Macy Kline’s career-high 24, 13 from Kennedy Schmitz, and 11 more from Alexa Hernandez, who also finished with 44 assists.
“What a total team win,” said head coach Abbey Sutherland. “We learned a lot from our experience last weekend, and today we found a way to embrace the process, stay in the moment and believe in each other when it mattered most. Everyone who stepped on the court did something that helped get us to the finish line.
Sutherland continued, “Macy Kline was such a steady force for us in serve receive and defensively. Alexa continues to get better and better at running the show, and I’m really proud of the way she is learning to move on when things get hard and trust herself. Kelsey Justman stepped up again and continues to show what an incredible competitor she is. Diane was a force, Kirsten Fish is really finding her groove offensively, and it was awesome to see Kendall competing with that kind of fire and confidence again. She just keeps getting better. More than anything, I’m proud of how all-in we were for each other. We made great plays, we trusted each other, and when it got hard, we kept going. That’s a really special win against an ACC team.”
HOW IT HAPPENED
SET 1 | The Phoenix took the first set 26-24, propelled by a strong showing on the attacking side. Green Bay put together a .371 attack percentage with 17 kills in the set victory. After the lead changed hands four times and the Phoenix found themselves down 24-22, GB rattled off four straight points to take the set.
SET 2 | Green Bay then lost the second set 25-23, evening things at a set each. Green Bay trailed by as many as six points before the Phoenix grabbed a 23-22 lead. However, the Hokies had their own late set run, scoring three straight points to win it, 25-23.
SET 3 | Green Bay then got back on the winning track, emerging victorious in set three and taking a two-sets-to-one lead in the match. The Phoenix scored first and never trailed in the set to secure a dominant 25-16 victory. Green Bay opened up as much as a 13-point lead at 21-8 before finishing off the set. The Green Bay offense also got a boost from three aces in the frame.
SET 4 | The Hokies forced a fifth set with a 25-21 victory in set four. The Phoenix trailed by as many as seven points as Virginia Tech grabbed the advantage for good at 17-16, and Green Bay was never able to recover in a set that was knotted up eight times before the Hokies took over in the second half of the set.
SET 5 | Green Bay jumped out ahead to start the fifth set, when a 4-0 run, helped on by a pair of Pichelman kills, gave the Phoenix an early 9-4 lead. That lead proved to be enough as Green Bay pulled out the fifth set, 15-9.
GAME NOTES
» Green Bay had four players in double figures in kills.
» Green Bay had three players in double figures in digs.
» Pichelman and Hernandez had a team-high two aces in the win.
» Green Bay never trailed on the way to winning the third set 25-16.
» Saturday’s match was the first meeting between the two schools, with the Phoenix now holding a 1-0 record against the Hokies.
UP NEXT
The Phoenix will look to stay unbeaten on the weekend Sunday when they take on Northwestern at 3 p.m.
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