GREEN BAY, Wis. (GreenBayPhoenix.com) - Hosting Marquette (12-7) for the Compete to Beat game
Wednesday night at the Kress Events Center, Green Bay (7-15) won set two and
got 14 kills from junior Abbey Gitter (Hortonville, Wis.), but the
visiting BIG EAST foe was too strong late as the Phoenix fell 3-1 (25-19,
23-25, 25-21, 25-15) in non-conference volleyball action.
The
special night in support of Breast Cancer Awareness Month included pink game
balls and both teams warming up in pink t-shirts. Miss Wisconsin 2010 Kimberly
Sawyer helped open the festivities by singing the national anthem. The pink
game balls will be autographed by the Green Bay players and auctioned off among
other Compete to Beat items on the GreenBayPhoenix.com auction site through Oct. 23.
Gitter
continued her recent strong play with 14 kills while junior Kelly Mischer
(Kaukauna, Wis.) notched 11 kills and a .391 hitting percentage in one of her
strongest performances of the season. Senior Whitney Schott
(Roscoe, Ill.) dished out 44 assists and tallied three service aces for the hosts,
who played their final non-conference game of the season.
Green
Bay led early in set one, taking an 8-7 lead on a Gitter kill. Marquette
responded with a 5-1 run to move ahead 12-9, and the Golden Eagles led the rest
of the way despite five first-set kills from Gitter.
A
resilient Green Bay squad took set two despite falling behind 8-4. The Phoenix
rallied with five-straight points, taking a 9-8 lead on back-to-back kills by Mischler.
After
Marquette closed to 17-16, Mischler led a 5-1 Phoenix run with a pair of kills.
Gitter gave Green Bay a 24-21 lead late, and after the Golden Eagles closed to
24-23, another Gitter kill tied the score at 1-1 heading to intermission.
Including
five kills in the second, Mischler had six kills and a .667 hitting percentage
heading to the intermission. The junior had 10 kills before recording an error
in the match. Marquette hit .385 in the opening set, but the Phoenix held the
visitors to a .195 hitting percentage in set two.
The
Phoenix again fell behind 8-4 in the third, but rallied by scoring seven of the
next eight points to take a 11-9 lead. Marquette came back with a run of its
own, tallying the next six points to lead 15-11. Gitter's kill closed the lead
to one at 16-15, but the Golden Eagles led the rest of the way.
Green
Bay hung tough early in set four, and the Phoenix trailed 9-8 on a Mischler
kill. A Monica Anderson (Cottage Grove, Wis.) kill made it 14-12
Marquette before the visitors closed the door with a strong finish.
Sophomore
Brittany Groth (Oak Creek, Wis.), the reigning Horizon League Defensive
Player of the Week, led the Phoenix with 16 digs.
Green
Bay faces another in-state opponent but returns to conference action on Friday,
playing at Milwaukee at 7 p.m. With eight matches remaining, the Phoenix will
be starting the second half of its league schedule.
Marquette def. Green
Bay 25-19,23-25,25-21,25-15
Marquette (12-7)
(Kills-aces-blocks)
BEYER, Ashley 17-1-1; CARLSON, Danielle 13-0-2; GONYO, Rabbecka 13-0-7; JONES,
Ciara 13-1-2; MATTAI, Kelsey 4-0-0; KLINGSPORN, Nikki 4-1-0; MAYER, Catherine
0-2-0; JEZIOROWSKI, Julie 0-2-0; Totals 64-7-7.0. (Assists) - KLINGSPORN, Nikki
57. (Dig leaders) - JEZIOROWSKI, Julie 21; BEYER, Ashley 19; KLINGSPORN, Nikki
10; MAYER, Catherine 8
Green
Bay (7-15) (Kills-aces-blocks)
GITTER, Abbey 14-0-0; MISCHLER, Kelly 11-0-2;
LEITERMANN, Carmen 8-1-2; VAN ZEELAND, Leah 7-1-2; ZABKOWICZ, Lyndsay 7-0-0;
ANDERSON, Monica 3-0-1; SCHOTT, Whitney 2-3-1; Totals 52-5-5.0. (Assists) -
SCHOTT, Whitney 44. (Dig leaders) - GROTH, Brittany 16; VAN ZEELAND, Leah 9;
LINDSTEDT, Kara 9; MARUNOWSKI, Sabrina 8
