MILWAUKEE, Wis. – The Green Bay volleyball team grabbed a huge win on the road at Milwaukee Tuesday night, winning the battle of the Horizon League volleyball unbeaten. The Phoenix fought back after losing the first set to secure a 3-1 win (21-25, 25-16, 25-19, 25-17), and became the lone team at the top of the Horizon League standings with a 5-0 league record.
The Phoenix was led by a double-double from Hannah Vanden Berg, who registered 14 kills and 11 digs on the day. Tiffany Paalman led the team in kills with added 15. On the defensive end, Abby Gardner chipped in with 17 digs to go with a career-high eight blocks from Ellie Kurpeikis. Emma Johnson had 43 assists to lead GB.
Milwaukee had three players finish with double-digit kills, led by Ari Miller and Natalie Schmitz with 11.
HOW IT HAPPENED
SET 1 | The Phoenix found themselves in an early deficit, losing the first set 25-21. The Panthers took control of the set with a 9-0 run at the start of the set that gave them a 13-5 lead. GB battled back to cut the Milwaukee lead to one, but the Panthers closed out the set with a 3-0 run.
SET 2 | Green Bay responded in a big way and picked up a 25-16 victory in set two, evening the match at one set apiece. The Phoenix jumped out to an 11-2 lead and never looked back. The front row had a solid defensive performance, blocking four Milwaukee attacks in the stanza.
SET 3 | Green Bay built on that second-set success with a 25-19 victory in set number three to open up a lead at two sets to one. The second set was back-and-forth the entire way with GB finding themselves with a slight advantage at 15-14. That was when the Phoenix stepped on the gas and finished with a 10-5 run to close it out.
SET 4 | Green Bay ended the match with a 25-17 fourth-set victory, winning their third set in a row. GB was on fire offensively in the set, registering a .412 attack percentage with 15 kills.
GAME NOTES
» Emma Best finished the match with a season-high 10 kills.
» Vanden Berg had a team-high three aces in the win, all three coming in the first set.
» GB outhit Milwaukee .271 to .186.
» GB has now won three straight against MKE.
» Paalman has now had two matches in a row with 15+ kills.
ON THE HORIZON
The Green & White has a challenging weekend in store, as they'll host Wright State on Friday at 6 p.m., and Northern Kentucky on Saturday at 4 p.m. Both teams enter the weekend with a 4-1 Horizon League record.
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