By Patrick Stumpf
GREEN BAY, Wis. (GreenBayPhoenix.com) – The Green Bay volleyball team carried over its hot start into conference play on Thursday night, defeating Youngstown State in four sets (25-18, 17-25, 25-18, 25-20) in the Horizon League opener at the Beeghly Center in Youngstown, Ohio.
Megan Powers tallied 15 kills to lead the way for the Phoenix, while Lydia DeWeese (11 kills/.458 hitting percentage) and Samantha Anthon (10 kills) also served as key contributors on the offensive end as well.
Green Bay (10-4, 1-0 Horizon League) won the opening set after hitting .209 as a team, while holding the Penguins to just .119. After Youngstown State answered in a nearly identical fashion in set No. 2, the Phoenix closed out the match by grabbing early leads in the third and fourth frames, which were capped off by kills from Powers and DeWeese, respectively.
“Matches are all about adjustments and how you handle them,” said Burdette. “Youngstown State did a very nice job after that first set and did some different things. We made some personnel change and were able to get back on course and kept the pressure on.”
The Penguins committed 23 errors to Green Bay's 20, while the Phoenix recorded edges in both total blocks (16-10) and service aces (5-3). Sophomore Beth Kuske paced all players with nine blocks.
Appearing in their final conference openers, seniors Emily Riese (46 assists/11 digs), Jillian Bauer (20 digs), Becca Mastey (16 digs) and Taylor Kasal (12 digs) all played pivotal roles for Green Bay.
“It's a great start," said head coach Sean Burdette following the win. "Everyone was starting fresh here in conference and all records are thrown out the door."
"Our result tonight and the Milwaukee-Oakland result (3-2 UWM) was probably different than a lot of people thought, but it's the Horizon League and every night is a battle.”
UP NEXT
The Phoenix (10-4, 1-0) will continue its opening weekend in the Horizon League tomorrow evening, when it will take on Cleveland State (11-3). First serve from Cleveland, Ohio, is slated for 6 p.m. Fans are welcome to watch the action LIVE on ESPN3 here.
“Cleveland State is a well-coached team with good athletes," said Burdette. "We will scout them on video at the hotel tonight and see how we can best prepare for them. As we've said all along, it's about taking it one match at a time.”
BOX SCORE – GREEN BAY 3, YOUNGSTOWN STATE 1
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