By: Ryan Hartwig (@RyanHartwig)
GreenBayPhoenix.com
GREEN BAY, Wis.
(GreenBayPhoenix.com) - The Green Bay
volleyball team (1-0) opened its 2012 campaign Friday night with a 3-0 sweep
(25-19, 25-13, 25-20) of Drake (0-1) in its first match of the Green
Bay/Country Inn & Suites Tournament at the Kress Center. It was the second
of two matches at the Kress on Friday, as Auburn (1-0) defeated Central
Michigan (0-1) 3-2 in the early contest.
The Phoenix hit .227 for
the match and registered 47 kills, led by junior Lyndsay Zabkowicz (Oak
Creek, Wis.) who tallied a match-high 13 to go along with 14 digs. Senior Carmen Leitermann
(Schofield, Wis.) added 12 kills thanks to an impressive .455 hitting
percentage, while junior Monica Anderson (Cottage Grove, Wis.) chipped
in nine.
Preseason All-Horizon
League selection Brittany Groth (Oak Creek, Wis.) led the Phoenix with
24 digs on the night - just two shy of her school record for digs in a
three-set match (26). In addition, last year's Horizon League assists leader Leah Poel (Jenison, Mich.) picked up where she left off a season ago, finishing
with 36 helpers in the victory.
"It's always great to
start the season off with a win," Phoenix head coach Debbie Kirch said.
"Winning in three sets is always difficult in volleyball, so it was nice to be
able to finish it off strong. I thought we moved the ball around well
offensively and our defense was relentless. We just need to be a little more
disciplined and improve on some things, but overall it was a good starting
point for us."
The Phoenix got off to a
bit of a slow start, trailing Drake 12-9 midway through the opening set. The
home team responded by scoring five of the next six points to seize the lead
and pulled away down the stretch for a 25-19 win.
Green Bay dominated set
number two, using early kills from Leitermann and Zabkowicz to jump out to a
12-5 lead. Zabkowicz totaled five kills in the set, including three in the final
seven points to ice the 25-13 victory.
Set three saw the Phoenix
trailing early once again, forcing Kirch to call a timeout down 5-2. Green Bay
came out of the break firing, going on a 10-1 run that included seven kills to
regain the lead and the momentum. The Bulldogs cut it to 19-17 late, but the
Phoenix held off the visitors to earn the 25-20 set win and the sweep.
The match was the first of
three for the Phoenix in its season-opening home tournament. Green Bay is back
in action Saturday at the Kress Center, hosting NCAA Tournament qualifier
Central Michigan at 12:30 p.m. and SEC foe Auburn 7 p.m.
GREEN BAY/COUNTRY INN & SUITES TOURNAMENT
Friday, August 24 - Results
4:30 p.m. - Auburn 3, Central Michigan 2
7 p.m. - Green Bay 3, Drake 2
Saturday, August 25 - Schedule
10 a.m. - Auburn vs. Drake [Live Stats | Live Video]
12:30 p.m. - Green Bay vs. Central Michigan [Live Stats | Live Video]
4:30 p.m. - Drake vs. Central Michigan [Live Stats | Live Video]
7 p.m. - Green Bay vs. Auburn [Live Stats | Live Video]
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Carmen Leitermann on 3-0 Win Over Drake
