By Patrick Stumpf
GREEN BAY, Wis. (GreenBayPhoenix.com) – After three straight weekends on the road, everyone on the Green Bay volleyball team was ready to get home.
On Tuesday night, the Phoenix got its first chance in front of the home Kress Center crowd and did not disappoint, picking up a convincing three-set win (25-16, 25-15, 25-12) over Chicago State. Green Bay, now 8-3 on the season, has strung together four consecutive victories, including six in its last seven games, with Horizon League-play only nine days away.
Six Phoenix players tallied five or more kills on the evening, led by sophomore middle blocker Beth Kuske, who recorded eight kills. Reigning Horizon League Offensive Player of the Week Lydia DeWeese continued her stellar play on the outside as well, notching six kills in seven tries for a .857 attack percentage.
As a team, Green Bay recorded a .354 hitting percentage, including a superb .545 mark in the third set, while limiting the Cougars to just .118 overall on the defensive end.
BOX SCORE – GREEN BAY 3, CHICAGO STATE 0
“First and foremost it was great to be home, we had a great crowd, and I'm really pleased with the students here coming out to support us on a Tuesday evening,” said head coach Sean Burdette.
“I thought more than anything, it was a matter of getting some people in the match that haven't played a lot of points recently. They stepped up big time and were able to contribute and the bench was great. We were able to move some people around and find a good groove tonight.”
Among the numerous players who logged significant playing time were junior transfers Adrianna Sosnowska and Amber Kelly, as well as freshman Vanessa Buman. Sosnowska and Kelly combined for eight kills in 11 attacks without committing an error (.727 percentage), while Buman had seven digs, two shy of the team lead.
With the conference-opener quickly approaching against Youngstown State on Sept. 24, and film on upcoming opponents now more readily available, Burdette said his goal moving forward will be to limit the flow of information coming in.
“There's certainly a lot more film available (at this point in the season), and you can watch as much or as little as you want,” he said. “The goal for us as coaches is to know tendencies and know the teams that we're going to play, but not overload our players. You don't want to ill-prepare them for something they may not see.”
UP NEXT
Green Bay will complete the non-conference portion of its schedule this weekend when it will travel to Oxford, Ohio, to participate in the Miami Invitational against IPFW (2-9) and Miami (Ohio) University (5-5) on Friday and Saturday. For any fans who plan to make the trip, please be sure to review the recent construction updates in the area here.
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