GREEN BAY, Wis. (GreenBayPhoenix.com) --- The Green Bay Phoenix volleyball team (17-10, 12-3 HL) was put to the test this evening against the Milwaukee Panthers (8-21, 7-9 HL) in five sets, but rose to the challenge and came away with the win. The Phoenix are now a perfect 7-0 at home this season, with one more match to go tomorrow afternoon.
 
"We give credit to Milwaukee for playing really well," said head coach Abbey Sutherland. "Even though we struggled at times, we worked to stick together even during the struggle, and that's been the goal all year. That mentality helped us in the end."
 
Green Bay 3, Milwaukee 2
Though the Panthers tallied more attacks this evening, the Phoenix collected more kills, giving them the more efficient overall clip, with the highest hitting percentage (.300) coming from the first set (25-23) as the team grabbed six of the last nine points.
 
Set two (23-25) saw a massive seven-point margin between the two teams, and Green Bay had to struggle to catch back up with their opponents near the end of the game. They went on two 4-0 runs despite the gap, tying the set at 23, but unable to finish off their comeback attempt. Almost consequentially, the Phoenix started off on the wrong foot in the third set (19-25) and couldn't manage to stop the Panther attack.
 
The fire was re-set in the fourth game (25-18) thanks to a dominant performance from sophomore Taylor Wolf. She was the hero of this set, collecting 10 kills alone out of her season-high 29 total kills to keep Green Bay alive. After both teams were out of timeouts and tied at 17, it was the Phoenix that proved to have more grit, taking eight of the last nine points.
 
The fifth and final set (15-12) was riddled with coaches' challenges, but the Phoenix managed to flip-flop from being behind by two at 5-7 to up by two at 9-7. The fans at the Kress Events Center were on their feet by the end of the match, and junior Emily Lautenschlager ended it with an ace to seal the deal. 
 
Out of Wolf's 69 attacks, she managed to still have a fairly decent clip of .290. Helping her was fellow classmate Ashley Sledge with 14 kills and freshman Alexandra Zakutney with 12 kills. Sledge also teamed up with senior Jessica Wolf to tally five blocks each at the net, and one block solo for each as well. Sophomore Anna Eaton also made an impact with four total blocks along with a block solo of her own.
 
Maddie Yoss coordinated for the Phoenix on the court, collecting 58 assists, 18 more than the top Panther setter. Digging their way to victory was senior Vanessa Buman with 29 and the younger Wolf with 21, both ahead of the best Milwaukee defensive specialist.
 
Next Game
The Phoenix will have one final match tomorrow afternoon to decide the regular season championship, which they can claim as outright champions with a win. The team will face the UIC Flames, with the first serve at 4:00 p.m. Green Bay will celebrate their three seniors prior to the match.
 
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