DAYTON, Ohio - A Horizon League Championship was not in the cards for the Green Bay volleyball team this year, as the Phoenix fell to the Wright State Raiders in straight sets (14-25, 16-25, 18-25) Sunday afternoon. With the win, Wright State has won back-to-back HL Tournaments and will play in the NCAA Tournament representing the Horizon League.
Emma Best and Cora Behnke led the offense with eight kills each. Defensively, GB had three players reach double figures in digs, including Abby Gardner's 13, 11 from Behnke, and 11 more from Hannah Vanden Berg. From the front row, Ellie Kurpeikis finished with five blocks.
Callie Martin led the Wright State offense with 12 kills while Megan Alders chipped in with nine. The Raiders front line was solid defensively, with Aaliyah Byers racking up eight blacks and Alders finishing with six of her own.
ALL-TOURNAMENT PERFORMANCE
Vanden Berg and Paalman were named to the Horizon League All-Tournament Team after Sunday's match concluded. Vanden Berg finished the weekend averaging a team-leading 14.5 kills, 9.5 digs, and 1.5 blocks per match. Paalman was key to Green Bay's Championship appearance as well, averaging 12.0 kills on a .259 attack percentage. Paalman also racked up 2.0 blocks per match.
HOW IT HAPPENED
SET 1 | The Phoenix found themselves in an early hole, dropping a tough first set, 25-14. The Raiders jumped out to an early 9-3 lead and never looked back, leading by as many as 12 points. Wright State got it going offensively in the set, finishing with 13 kills on a .333 hitting percentage.
SET 2 | Green Bay lost the second set 25-16, falling down to a 2-0 deficit in the match. The two teams were tied at eight when Wright State went on a 7-2 run to take control of the set. Green Bay battled back to cut the WSU lead to 19-16, but the Raiders rattled off a 6-0 run to end the set.
SET 3 | Wright State completed the sweep with a 25-18 third-set win. The Phoenix held tough for a majority of the set, but a 10-4 Wright State run gave them control of the set.
GAME NOTES
» Wright State outhit Green Bay .262 to .035.
» The Raiders finished with six aces to the Phoenix zero.
» The WSU front row controlled the match, blocking 14 attacks compared to GB's six.
» Emma Johnson finished the day with 30 assists.
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