GREEN BAY, Wis. (GreenBayPhoenix.com) – The Green Bay volleyball team will play its first home matches of the season this weekend, facing two of the three teams coming to the Kress Center for the 2017 Green Bay Country Inn & Suites Classic. Cal Poly, North Dakota and the newest Horizon League member IUPUI will take part in the weekend tournament, which is set for Friday and Saturday. Green Bay will only play against North Dakota and Cal Poly, now that the Jaguars have joined the League and the Phoenix will already be playing them twice this season in conference play.
GREEN BAY COUNTRY INN & SUITES CLASSIC (Green Bay, Wis. / Kress Center)
Friday, Sept. 15
10 a.m. - Cal Poly vs. North Dakota | Cal Poly 3, UND 0
5 p.m. - IUPUI vs. Cal Poly | Cal Poly 3, IUPUI 0
7 p.m. - Green Bay vs. North Dakota | North Dakota 3, Green Bay 0
Saturday, Sept. 16
1 p.m. - North Dakota vs. IUPUI | LIVE STATS
4 p.m. - Green Bay vs. Cal Poly | LIVE STATS / Watch: ESPN3
Ticket Information
Social Media: Twitter
OPPONENT OUTLOOK
North Dakota has opened up the season on a tear, owning a 13-1 record and having won nine-straight matches. The Fighting Hawks have gone 6-0 on a neutral court and have won seven-straight matches in straight sets. Faith Dooley has led the UND attack with 3.24 kills per set and a .387 hitting percentage including 75 total blocks, while Tamara Merseli sits second on the team with 145 kills.
Series History: Green Bay faced UND in last year's Diet Coke Classic in Minneapolis, winning 3-0, which snapped a five-match losing streak to the Fighting Hawks.
Cal Poly sits just outside the AVCA Top 25, by only four votes and unofficially at No. 26 in the country. The Mustangs have won back to back matches since dropping a pair, with both defeats coming against teams ranked inside the AVCA Top 15 in No. 8 Washington and No. 14 Oregon. Cal Poly is fresh off a dramatic five-set victory over then No. 23 Wichita State. Torrey Van Winden leads Cal Poly, earning Big West Conference Player of the Week for the second week in a row after averaging 5.45 kills per set while hitting .353 in her team's 2-1 record at last weekend's Nike Classic. The team also sits third in the NCAA in kills per set with 15.38.
Series History: The Phoenix and Mustangs have met only once in program history, a meeting back in 1999 that Cal Poly won 3-0.
IUPUI joined the Horizon League this summer, thus throwing a wrench in Green Bay's home tournament in which is scheduled to play IUPUI. With the Phoenix and Jaguars playing a home and home this season for league play, that match was removed from the weekend schedule. IUPUI has gone 4-7 this season, going 1-2 in last weekend's Central Michigan Tournament.
RECENT PLAY
The Phoenix has certainly challenged itself in the nonconference this year, and that will continue again this weekend. Green Bay is coming off a trip to Salt Lake City where it played three matches in the Utah Classic against two AVCA Top 25 teams and strong Missouri side. No. 18 Utah and No. 15 San Diego proved to be a tall task for GB, winning both matches in straight sets last Saturday. The Phoenix was able to hang right with Missouri, but the Tigers were able to eek out three tight set wins in the 3-1 win.
HOME SWEET HOME
After spending three weekends in a row on the road, the Kress Center will be a breath of fresh air for the Phoenix, which was picked second in the Horizon League preseason poll. Green Bay went a strong 10-1 at home last season, with its only defeat coming in five sets to Oakland. Eight of those ten wins came in straight sets and the last time Green Bay played on the Kress Center floor in a regular season match it was celebrating an impressive 3-2 win over defending league champion Cleveland State. Home sweet home, indeed.
DANGEROUS DEWEESE
Lydia DeWeese leads the Phoenix again this season with a hitting percentage (.388) ranked 50th in the NCAA and second in the Horizon League. The program's all-time leader in that category will continue her strong push for Player of the Year honors with conference play on the horizon in two weeks, also averaging 3.48 kills per set. The senior also leads the team in blocks with 27, with six of those coming as solo blocks.
FACTORING FRESHMEN
The Green Bay attack is boasted by the talents of three strong freshmen, who all rank in the top five of the team in kills . Taylor Wolf (96 kills) is second on the team, while Roberta Todd (63 kills) and Ashley Sledge (37 kills) and fourth and fifth, respectively. Junior Jessica Wolf is enjoying another strong season, averaging 2.32 kills per set and has also accumulated 17 blocks.
###
For the latest and most up-to-date information on Green Bay Athletics and Green Bay Men's Volleyball, please visit GreenBayPhoenix.com.
Follow us on Twitter: @GBPhoenix and @GBPhoenixVB
Like Green Bay Phoenix Athletics and Green Bay Phoenix Volleyball on Facebook.
---GreenBayPhoenix.com---
