By Patrick Stumpf
GREEN BAY, Wis. (GreenBayPhoenix.com) – Less than 24 hours after defeating a UNLV team that was coming off one of its best seasons in school history, the Green Bay volleyball team proved it had an equally impressive encore saved for Saturday morning after capping its Varney's Invitational Weekend in Manhattan, Kan., with a convincing 3-0 sweep (25-17, 25-21, 25-22) over the Cal Golden Bears.
The win marked the first in program history over a current-member of the Pac-12 Conference.
“I'm so proud of our players,” said head coach Sean Burdette. “I thought they responded really well after dropping a match (to open the weekend) against K-State, and then to be able to come out with great energy and excitement (today). I thought defensively we frustrated Cal off the bat and that played into our advantage.”
For their contributions to Green Bay's 2-1 finish in pool play – falling only to the tournament-host and champion Kansas State Wildcats – seniors Emily Riese and Jillian Bauer garnered All-Tournament team honors, with Bauer receiving them for the second consecutive weekend.
Green Bay came out of the gates very strong offensively against the Golden Bears, recording 16 kills on a .359 hitting percentage in the first set, and trailed for only a few brief stretches the remainder of the match. Sophomore Lydia DeWeese led the Phoenix offensive attack with a match-high 12 kills in just 19 total attacks, posting a superb .526 hitting-percentage.
Now 4-2 on the season, the Phoenix will shift its sights to next Thursday when it will play four games in three days at the UND Classic in Grand Forks, N.D. Green Bay will face North Dakota, Jacksonville State, Drake and South Dakota over the course of the weekend.
While they are all thinking ahead, for now, Burdette, his coaching staff and his players will have at least the next 12 hours to soak this one in.
“Well, we have a 12-hour bus ride home,” he said. “We'll go through the rest and recovery periods, and then get back to the gym on Monday and start accomplishing some more goals. It's a very quick turnaround, but it also will prepare us for our first weekend of Horizon League play.”
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