FRESNO, Calif. - The Green Bay Phoenix (0-3) was unable to
record a victory in three tries against California opponents, as the volleyball
team suffered losses to Fresno State (25, 27, 19-25, 20-25) and Cal State
Bakersfield (25-23, 25-15, 19-25, 25-27, 12-15) Saturday at the Fresno State
Invitational.
In the evening match, the Phoenix took the opening two sets
from Cal State Bakersfield, but could not put the Roadrunners away. The fourth
set proved to be the key, as the Roadrunners nabbed a 27-25 victory in a battle
that featured 10 ties and five lead changes. Green Bay struggled offensively
over the final two sets, hitting just .109 and .079, respectively.
Holly Visser (Waupun, Wis.) led the Phoenix attack with 16
kills and also scooped up 22 digs. Joining her with a double-double effort was
fellow senior Nikki Hintze (Menomonee Falls, Wis.), who collected 13 kills and
10 digs. Freshman Brittany Groth (Oak Creek, Wis.) pounded a career-high 13
kills, aided by a number of the 45 assists courtesy of Whitney Schott (Roscoe,
Ill.).
The Phoenix was defeated by Fresno State in the opening match
by a 3-0 count. Green Bay took the Bulldogs to extra points in the opening set
before falling 27-25.
The Phoenix opened that stanza by reeling off the first
seven points before the Bulldogs climbed back into the contest and ultimately
tied the score at 13-13. Green Bay staved off one set point at 25-24 on a Groth
kill, but Fresno countered with two straight smashes to end it.
After falling 25-19 in the second set, the Phoenix started
quickly in the third and jumped out to a 17-7 advantage. Fresno State made a
mini-run to close the gap to six, 20-14. At that point however, the Bulldogs
went on an amazing 11-0 spurt, which included a pair of aces by Lacey Gera, to
claim the sweep.
Hintze had a match-high 15 kills, while Schott garnered a
double-double with 30 assists and 10 digs.
Green Bay opens its home season this weekend at the Green
Bay Country Inn & Suites Classic, a round-robin tournament at the Kress
Center. Green Bay will play Central Michigan (Friday at 7 p.m.), South Dakota
State (Saturday at 1:30 p.m.) and Iowa (Saturday at 7 p.m.).
--www.GreenBayPhoenix.com--
