DES MOINES, Iowa (GreenBayPhoenix.com) - Junior Abbey Gitter (Hortonville, Wis.) tallied 12 kills and senior Whitney Schott (Roscoe, Ill.) directed the Phoenix offense to a season-high hitting percentage as Green Bay (1-5) defeated Southern Utah 3-0 (25-23, 25-23, 25-23) Saturday evening in non-conference volleyball action at the Drake Invite in Des Moines.

The victory over Southern Utah was part of a two-match day for Green Bay. The Phoenix also fell to North Dakota on Saturday 3-0 (25-18, 29-27, 25-12). The day completed Green Bay's action in the Drake Invite, and Schott represented her team on an all-tournament team for the second-straight weekend after collecting 95 assists in three matches.

"It was good to get over the hump and get our first win," said head coach Debbie Kirch. "Our serving really came through for us against Southern Utah. I'm starting to see consistency from Whitney, Abbey and Kelly [Mischler]. We still need to work on our consistency with chemistry on the court from point to point."

North Dakota 3, Green Bay 0

Despite a thrilling second set that included 14 ties and saw Green Bay rally from 20-15 down, the Phoenix fell 3-0 to North Dakota. Gitter led the Phoenix for the second-straight match with seven kills, and fellow juniors Kelly Mischler (Kaukauna, Wis.) and Carlie Willison (Greenfield, Wis.) added six kills apiece.

Schott had 25 assists and seven digs for Green Bay while junior Karli Koralewski (Muskego, Wis.) tallied a team-high 11 digs in the contest.

Green Bay 3, Southern Utah 0

While Gitter led the team against Southern Utah, it was a complete team effort by the Phoenix in the victory. Willison had nine kills in the contest while Mischler totaled seven kills and had a .308 hitting percentage. Gitter's hitting percentage of .346 came on just three errors in 26 attacks.

Each of the three sets against Southern Utah was tied at 23-23 before the Phoenix closed each out. In sets two and three, it was the team's defense which earned the deciding point. Gitter and Mischler combined on a block for the win in set two before Gitter teamed with junior Alison Bohnen (St. Germain, Wis.) on a block to end set three. Koralewski also helped defensively with a team-high 16 digs.

A night after being undone by 25 service errors on Friday night, Green Bay used eight service aces to help earn the victory on Saturday. Schott, Gitter, Kara Lindstedt (Shoreview, Minn.) and Sabrina Marunowski (Milwaukee, Wis.) each recorded two aces apiece.

Green Bay will conclude its weekend with a neutral site contest Sunday at 1 p.m. against South Dakota State in Ames, Iowa. To follow the game via live stats, click here.

North Dakota def. Green Bay 25-18, 29-27, 25-12

Green Bay (0-4) (Kills-aces-blocks)
GITTER, Abbey 7-0-3; MISCHLER, Kelly 6-0-1; WILLISON, Carlie 6-0-0; LINDSTEDT, Kara 5-1-1; LEITERMANN, Carmen 3-0-3; KORALEWSKI, Karli 1-0-0; SCHOTT, Whitney 1-1-0; MARUNOWSKI, Sabrina 0-1-0; Totals 29-3-5.0. (Assists) - SCHOTT, Whitney 25. (Dig leaders) - KORALEWSKI, Karli 11; SCHOTT, Whitney 7

North Dakota (5-1) (Kills-aces-blocks)
Annika Smed 11-0-4; Tiara Russell 10-0-7; Devin Trefz 8-0-2; Erin Joki 8-0-3; Lisa Parlich 7-0-2; Ellen Krueger 6-2-1; Ronni Munkeby 1-0-0; Kaci Miller 1-0-0; Nikki Husfeldt 0-0-1; Erica Turner 0-1-0; Courtney Halvorson 0-1-0; Totals 52-4-10.0. (Assists) - Ellen Krueger 40. (Dig leaders) - Ellen Krueger 10; Courtney Halvorson 10

Green Bay def. Southern Utah 25-23, 25-23, 25-23

Green Bay (1-5) (Kills-aces-blocks)
GITTER, Abbey 12-0-3; WILLISON, Carlie 9-2-2; MISCHLER, Kelly 7-0-4; LINDSTEDT, Kara 3-2-2; SCHOTT, Whitney 3-2-0; LEITERMANN, Carmen 2-0-1; ANDERSON, Monica 1-0-0; MARUNOWSKI, Sabrina 0-2-0; BOHNEN, Alison 0-0-3; Totals 37-8-9.0. (Assists) - SCHOTT, Whitney 31. (Dig leaders) - KORALEWSKI, Karli 16; LINDSTEDT, Kara 11; WILLISON, Carlie 9

Southern Utah (2-5) (Kills-aces-blocks)
Tess Lawrence 9-1-1; Analaine Pelaez 9-0-2; Alissa Youart 8-0-1; Cashaana Renfro 5-0-4; Jazmine Ma'afala 4-1-2; Brittney Clark 1-1-2; Kylie Schofield 1-0-1; Jordan Anderson 0-1-0; Caitlin Jensen 0-1-0; Totals 37-5-8.0. (Assists) - Brittney Clark 32. (Dig leaders) - Caitlin Jensen 14; Analaine Pelaez 13; Jazmine Ma'afala 9