By Patrick Stumpf
ROCHESTER, Mich. (GreenBayPhoenix.com) – The Green Bay volleyball team ended its fifth road trip in five weekends on Friday afternoon, falling to defending-Horizon League champion Oakland in straight sets (25-16, 25-18, 25-19) at the O'rena in Rochester, Mich.
Abby Jeffcoat led the Phoenix with 10 kills on a .364 hitting percentage, while Emily Riese (31 assists), Jillian Bauer (12 digs) and Becca Mastey (10 digs) all reached double-figures in their respective categories.
After losing to UW-Milwaukee in five-sets in its home-opener on Thursday night, Oakland led from start to finish in the opening set, which was capped off by a kill by sophomore middle hitter Sammy Condon.
The Golden Grizzlies grabbed a 5-0 lead in the second set, however Green Bay answered with seven of the next eight points to take a 7-6 lead. The teams traded blows throughout the frame, but it was Condon once again who ended it to give Oakland a 2-0 match lead.
Trailing by six points in the third set, 17-11, freshman Jessica Wolf tallied a pair of kills to cut the deficit to three at 19-16, but it wasn't quite enough, as Oakland hit .533 in the third frame to close it out in front of the home crowd.
"It's five weeks in and we've got to be a little bit tougher on the road," said head coach Sean Burdette. "We have alot of new faces out there and we're prepping them as much as possible. But it is a different environment once you get to conference. Everyone's out for a win and protecting their home court."
Speaking to the Phoenix's difficult travel schedule to begin the year, Burdette simply said his team won't be looking for excuses.
"We have the schedule we have, whether that's three in a row (on the road) or not, we've got to be better every night. Either way it's tough to get a win in conference no matter how you look at it."
For the second consecutive day, Green Bay dealt with a reigning Horizon League Player of the Week in Condon, who finished the match with a game-high 14 kills on a .524 hitting percentage. The Phoenix faced the other honoree, Cleveland State's Christina Toth, on Friday night.
BOX SCORE – OAKLAND 3, GREEN BAY 0
UP NEXT
After racking up nearly 5,500 travel miles already this season, the Phoenix (10-6, 1-2 Horizon League) will return to the Kress Center next Friday, when it welcomes in conference newcomer Northern Kentucky for a 7:00 p.m. start.
Said Burdette on the upcoming matchup: "We saw (Northern Kentucky) a week ago at the Miami Invite, but at the time they had some injuries and some players out. So we'll see who's back in and playing this weekend for them, but I imagine they're going to look very different."
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