GREEN BAY, Wis. – After falling behind 2-0 to start, the Green Bay Phoenix volleyball team battled back to force a fifth set, but eventually fell to the St. Thomas Tommies 3-2. St. Thomas took the match with set scores of (15-25, 21-25, 25-20, 25-13, 12-15) Friday at the Kress Center.
The Phoenix offense was paced by a career-high night from Kirsten Fish, who finished with 15 kills on the day while accumulating a hitting percentage of .464. Cora Behnke added 15 of her own and Katie Schulz chipped in with 13. On the other side, the Phoenix had four players reach double figures in digs, highlighted by Abby Gardner's 16, 14 from Kennedy Schmitz, and 13 more from Kendall Schara. From the front row, Ellie Kurpeikis contributed five blocks. Emma Johnson didn't start the match, but made a big impact, finishing with 47 assists on the night.
HOW IT HAPPENED
SET 1 | The Tommies came out hot, hitting .306 as a team to take the first set 25-15. The Green Bay offense struggled to get going and never led after falling behind 3-2 early.
SET 2 |The second set was closer, but the result was the same as the first. The set saw four lead changes and seven ties, with neither team leading by more than four points along the way.
SET 3 | Green Bay began to turn the momentum in large part to Fish. The sophomore first appeared in the second set, but came alive in the third, putting down five kills in the frame. The Phoenix first took the lead at 12-11 and marched its way to a 25-20 victory. GB hit .300 and finished with four aces in the set.
SET 4 | GB continued its comeback, winning the fourth set in dominant fashion, 25-13 to bring the match level at two sets apiece. A solid performance on the attacking end led the Phoenix to victory in the set. Green Bay put together a .382 attack percentage with 17 kills in the set win.
SET 5 | The Tommies bounced back in the fifth 15-12 to grab the match. Green Bay actually outhit UST despite the set loss, .368 to .333.
GAME NOTES
» Emma Best and Schmitz each had a team-high two aces in the loss.
» Fish's previous career and season-high was nine kills.
» St. Thomas slightly outhit Green Bay .244 to .253.
COMING UP
Green Bay will close out the Capital Credit Union Classic against North Dakota tomorrow at 2 p.m. Following, the Phoenix will travel to Youngstown, Ohio for their Horizon League opener against Youngstown State on Friday, Sept. 27 at 5 p.m. CT.
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