By Patrick Stumpf
GREEN BAY, Wis. (GreenBayPhoenix.com) – Off to its best start in start in 12 years, the Green Bay volleyball team won its third straight game and fifth in its last six matches in the team's finale at the UND Classic in Grand Forks, N.D., beating South Dakota in four sets (20-25, 25-19, 25-21, 25-21) on Saturday afternoon.
The Phoenix, now 7-3, dropped the opening set to the Coyotes 25-20, however shook off the sluggish start by winning each of the next three. Green Bay trailed by as many as six twice during the second frame, 10-4 and 13-7, but after making a couple of personnel changes, Sean Burdette's team answered with an impressive 18-6 run that was capped off on a kill by freshman Jessica Wolf from senior setter Emily Riese.
Upon evening the match at a set apiece, the Phoenix would take control in both the third and fourth sets by jumping out to big leads and not looking back.
After the game, Burdette credited his roster for how quickly they've gelled this season.
“There's a lot of times when we specify players at certain positions, and a lot of other times where we just let them fill-in spots,” he said. “They have gotten comfortable playing with everybody and do a nice job of acclimating very quickly when there is someone new in there next to them.”
A microcosm of that sentiment on Saturday may have been sophomore middle blocker Beth Kuske. Although she had played in just two sets over the previous two days at the Betty Engelstad Sioux Center, she was inserted into the lineup in the second set and played a key role down the stretch, tallying six kills in the match.
All in all, it turned out to be yet another successful road trip for Green Bay, who finished 3-1 overall, placing second only to host North Dakota, who it took down to the wire before losing in a fifth set on Thursday night.
At the conclusion of pool play, sophomore Lydia DeWeese and junior Megan Powers were selected to the UND Classic All-Tournament Team.
DeWeese posted 59 kills at a stellar .438 hitting percentage over the course of the weekend, both which led the team, while Powers had 46 kills at a .316 clip, including her 300th kill as a Phoenix in the second set. The two also combined for 23 blocks.
BOX SCORE – GREEN BAY 3, SOUTH DAKOTA 1
UP NEXT
Green Bay will make its debut at the Kress Center on Tuesday evening, when it will welcome in Chicago State (0-9) for a 7:00 p.m. start. After three consecutive weekends on the road, it's safe to say everyone is looking forward to playing in front of a home crowd.
“I'm looking forward to getting home, and I know the players are,” Burdette said. “I know it's a Tuesday night but we'd love to get as many students and fans out there as possible. I think we've got a really nice product that people would like to see play.”
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