GREEN BAY, Wis. (GreenBayPhoenix.com) - Freshman Lyndsay
Zabkowicz (Oak Creek, Wis.) had her
coming out party Saturday afternoon, tallying a career-high 17 kills in her
first career start, but Green Bay's (6-12, 2-3 HL) comeback bid fell short at
the Kress Events Center, as the Phoenix lost to visiting Valparaiso (14-3, 3-2
HL) 3-1 (25-16, 25-17, 14-25, 25-23) in Horizon League volleyball action.
The
Phoenix fell in the first two sets before rallying to take set three and lead
for much of set four, but the team could not quite dig out of the hole to force
a fifth set for the second-straight match after a thrilling 3-2 win over Loyola
Saturday night.
"I
was disappointed with the way we came out in sets one and two," said head coach
Debbie Kirch. "It took us two games
to kind of wake up and start playing, but once we got into sets three and four
we played much better. We started playing great defense, passing and serving
better and swinging aggressively. We just waited too long, and you can't do
that against a team like Valpo."
Zabkowicz,
who did not have a kill on the season entering Thursday's match, tallied her 17
kills on 35 swings and had just two errors in a brilliant performance. The
freshman's .429 hitting percentage also led Green Bay, and she ended Green Bay's
three-match homestand with 27 kills and just three errors.
"She
has not gotten a lot of playing time, but just in this homestand alone has
shown us that she can make an impact for us offensively," said Kirch. "I was
very impressed with her play today."
The
Phoenix jumped out early in set one, leading 6-3 on a Carmen Leitermann (Schofield, Wis.) kill. The Phoenix did not trail
until Valparaiso went ahead 12-11, but the Crusaders cruised from there to
close the set, 25-16.
After
falling behind by as many as 10 (19-9) in the second set, the Phoenix rallied
to cut the lead to 22-16 before the Crusaders closed the set out 25-17.
Zabkowicz and junior Abbey Gitter (Hortonville,
Wis.) each notched five kills in the set for the Phoenix, but Green Bay could
not overcome Valpo's 17 kills and .350 hitting percentage.
The
Phoenix jumped out quickly after the intermission, leading set two 12-7 after a
Kelly Mischler (Kaukauna, Wis.)
kill. The lead grew quickly and Green Bay closed the set with five-straight
points on Carlie Willison's
(Greenfield, Wis) serve. The string included a pair of kills by Zabkowicz and
back-to-back aces from Willison.
Riding
the momentum, Green Bay again took control in set four, leading 11-8 after a
Willison kill. Back-to-back Zabkowicz kills preceded a Schott ace as the Phoenix
lead stretched to six (19-13) and looked primed to force a fifth set. Valpo's
response included four-straight points to tighten the match, and the Crusaders
took the lead for the first time at 22-21. Valpo withstood kills by Mischler
and Gitter to close out the set and the match.
Gitter
backed up Zabkowicz with 11 kills and a .360 hitting percentage while
Leitermann and Mischler added eight and seven kills respectively. Sophomore Brittany Groth (Oak Creek, Wis.)
continued her recent strong play at libero, notching a season-high 30 digs.
Senior Whitney Schott (Roscoe, Ill.)
tallied 46 assists in directing the offense to 52 kills and a .249 hitting
percentage.
The
Phoenix will return to action on Wednesday, traveling to Chicago to take on UIC
at 7 p.m. Green Bay returns home next weekend, hosting Wright State Saturday at
4 p.m. before welcoming Butler Sunday at 2 p.m.
Valparaiso def. Green Bay 25-16, 25-17, 14-25,
25-23
Valparaiso (14-3, 3-2 HL) (Kills-aces-blocks)
DIEBLER, Tara 15-1-3; POKORNY, Jenny
10-0-0; BRITTON, Katie 9-1-4; DOOMS, Sarah 9-0-1; LAYMAN, Katie 8-0-3;
GROESBECK, Amy 6-0-0; ROOT, Taylor 0-2-0; CUDNEY, Ariel 0-1-0; Totals 57-5-6.0.
(Assists) - POKORNY, Jenny 45. (Dig leaders) - ROOT, Taylor 18; DOOMS, Sarah
15; CUDNEY, Ariel 10; POKORNY, Jenny 8
Green
Bay (6-12, 2-3 HL) (Kills-aces-blocks)
ZABKOWICZ, Lyndsay 17-0-3; GITTER, Abbey 11-0-3;
LEITERMANN, Carmen 8-0-6; MISCHLER, Kelly 7-0-2; WILLISON, Carlie 6-3-2;
SCHOTT, Whitney 2-1-1; GROTH, Brittany 1-0-0; KORALEWSKI, Karli 0-1-0; Totals
52-5-10.0. (Assists) - SCHOTT, Whitney 46. (Dig leaders) - GROTH, Brittany 30;
SCHOTT, Whitney 12; MARUNOWSKI, Sabrina 9; WILLISON, Carlie 8
