DES MOINES, Ia. (GreenBayPhoenix.com)
- Junior Abbey Gitter (Hortonville, Wis.) tied a
career-high with 15 kills, but the Green Bay (0-4) was unable to knock off host
Drake (5-0) in match one of the Drake Invite Friday evening in Des Moines,
falling 3-1 (25-23, 25-18, 22-25, 25-15) in non-conference volleyball action.
Gitter's performance led Green Bay's best offensive output of
the season, as the Phoenix registered 52 kills for the match. Junior Carlie Willison (Greenfield, Wis.)
notched double-digit kills with 10 while senior setter Whitney Schott (Roscoe,
Ill.) had 39 assists, 13 digs and five kills, all season highs.
The Phoenix was undone by 15 service errors in the match,
something that proved to be a major difference in a match in which Green Bay
had six more kills than Drake and tallied nine blocks.
"We played much better. Our ball control, blocking and
defense were much improved," said head coach Debbie Kirch. "We still have not
found consistency in all our hitting positions on the court, but bottom line we
will not beat anyone with 15 service errors. I thought Abbey played really
well, and Kara did a great job being inserted in an outside hitting role."
Green Bay led the opening set eight different times,
including 23-20 after back-to-back kills by Schott and Gitter helped the
Phoenix to three-straight points late. However, Drake posted five points in a
row to claim set one.
A service ace by Willison gave Green Bay a 9-3
edge early in set two before the Bulldogs closed the gap and tied the score at
12-12. The Phoenix led before Drake scored six-straight points and ultimately
closed out the set, 25-18.
In the third set, two kills by Gitter and a
Schott ace sparked a 4-0 run which vaulted Green Bay ahead 12-8. With the score
knotted at 20, kills by Schott and Gitter put the Phoenix ahead, and a pair of
Willison kills helped close out the set 25-22. The Phoenix notched 18 kills and
three errors in the third set for a .283 hitting percentage.
The Bulldogs built a 5-0 lead in set four and the
Phoenix was never able to dig out of the hole as Drake closed out the match.
The Phoenix will take the court twice on
Saturday, playing North Dakota and Southern Utah at 2 and 5:30 p.m.
respectively. Both games can be followed via live stats at GoDrakeBulldogs.com.
Box Score
Drake def. Green Bay 25-23, 25-18, 22-25, 25-15
Green Bay (0-4)
(Kills-aces-blocks)
GITTER, Abbey 15-0-4; WILLISON, Carlie
10-1-1; MISCHLER, Kelly 8-1-2; LEITERMANN, Carmen 7-0-5; LINDSTEDT, Kara 7-0-2;
SCHOTT, Whitney 5-1-0; ANDERSON, Monica 0-0-1; Totals 52-3-9.0. (Assists) -
SCHOTT, Whitney 39. (Dig leaders) - KORALEWSKI, Karli 17; LINDSTEDT, Kara 14;
WILLISON, Carlie 14; SCHOTT, Whitney 13; MARUNOWSKI, Sabrina 10
Drake (5-0) (Kills-aces-blocks)
Bys, Angela 12-0-2; Sims, Mikayla 10-0-3; Reidy, Michelle 9-1-7; Deberg Roth,
Alisa 5-0-3; Hansen, Stacie 4-0-0; Heffernen, Emily 4-0-2; Johnson, Caitlin
2-0-0; Price, Erika 0-2-0; Totals 46-3-10.0. (Assists) - Clausen, Susan 20;
Johnson, Caitlin 18. (Dig leaders) - Wittenburg, Alana 32; Bys, Angela 15; Price,
Erika 9; Johnson, Caitlin 8
