GREEN BAY, Wis. (GreenBayPhoenix.com) --- The Green Bay Phoenix volleyball team (20-10) is headed to Madison, Wisconsin to take on the Wisconsin Badgers (22-6) in the First Round of the 2018 NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball Championship. The Phoenix will play at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, November 29 at the UW Field House for a chance to advance to the Second Round of the tournament.

Teams winning both matches will move on to regional play Dec. 7 and 8. Regionals for the NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball Championship will be held at four non-predetermined campus sites, which will be announced after play concludes, on Dec. 1. At each site, four teams will compete in single-elimination regional semifinal competition.

To view the complete 2018 NCAA bracket, click HERE.

Following the Phoenix
Fans planning on attending the Green Bay vs. Wisconsin match are encouraged to wear green to support the Phoenix.

Tickets will be on sale through the Green Bay Ticketing Office until 9:00 a.m. tomorrow (Wednesday, Nov. 28). For ticket information, contact Molly Christel at christmo@uwgb.edu.

After 9:00 a.m. Wednesday, fans must purchase tickets by going to UWBadgers.com, calling 608.262.1440 or 1.800.GO.BADGERS, or buying them in-person at the McGinnis Wisconsin Athletic Ticket Office located outside of Gate 1 of Camp Randall Stadium. Day-of-match sales are at the McGinnis ticket office and at Gate C of the Field House. Will call tickets will be located with Pass Gate entrance of the Field House between gates A and B. The individual who ordered the ticket must be the one to pick them up using a valid photo ID.

For directions to Wisconsin's ticket office as well as to the UW Field House, click HERE (PDF). A map of the seating chart can also be viewed HERE (PDF).

How/Where to Watch
If you are unable to attend, fans have the ability to watch live streams of the game on BTN2Go. The first round match against Wisconsin will be streamed live at Graystone, Hagemeister and all "The Bar" locations. WATCH HERE
 
History Made for Green Bay
The Phoenix won their first-ever regular season championship this season, defeating UIC at home on Senior Day. With the win, they earned the top seed in the Horizon League Tournament as well as the right to host. This home-court advantage played to Green Bay's advantage, as they went on to win the 2018 Horizon League Volleyball Championship by sweeping NKU and earning an automatic qualification to the NCAA Tournament, their first since 2003 when the third-seed Phoenix upset the first-seed Panthers.

The Green Bay volleyball team also made history on October 13, 2018, when they defeated Youngstown State in straight sets to mark a new program record win streak: seven in a row. On October 26, they extended that to ten. The streak of ten-consecutive match wins in a row is the most in the Division I era (first season was 1988) at Green Bay, and surpassed the team that won nine in a row back in 1987. Along with the record-breaking wins, the Phoenix marked a perfect 8-0 at home this season, not including their two additional wins while hosting the Horizon League Tournament.

All these accomplishments led to four players and head coach Abbey Sutherland receiving Horizon League season honors. Sutherland was chosen as the league's Coach of the Year, sophomore Taylor Wolf was named Player of the Year as well as Offensive Player of the Year, senior Vanessa Buman received Defensive Player of the Year honors, and junior Maddie Yoss was selected as Setter of the Year. Alexandra Zakutney was also honored this year as a member of the All-Freshman team.

Following the Horizon League Tournament, Wolf was chosen as Tournament MVP, while Yoss and senior Jessica Wolf were also named to the All-Tournament team. Yoss topped off the season with All-Academic team honors, joined by senior Austyn Everingham.
 
Tournament Notes
This will be the first NCAA Tournament for the volleyball program since the 2003 season, when the team finished 23-11 and fell to Minnesota in the First Round. Green Bay has never beaten Wisconsin, with the Badgers winning all nine meetings in the all-time series. Despite the close proximity, the two teams have not met since 2010.

The number-six ranked Badgers finished third in the Big Ten conference, behind number two Minnesota and number three Illinois. Players to watch for include setter Sydney Hilley and middle blocker Dana Rettke, both sophomores. Hilley ranks fifth in the nation for assists per set with 11.98, but Phoenix setter Maddie Yoss is not far behind, coming in at 30th with 10.99. Rettke leads the Badgers in both kills and blocks, her 6'8" frame helping her to seventh in the nation with 1.54 blocks per set.

This means that Green Bay will need to be ready to swing hard to get around the Wisconsin players at the net, led by Taylor Wolf's 4.62 kills per set to rank her 13th nationally, but should also rely on a flexible and agile defense, helped by Vanessa Buman's 5.40 digs per set to place her 20th in the nation. No Badgers are ranked in the top 50 within the NCAA in both of those categories.

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