KALAMAZOO, Mich. - The Green Bay volleyball team cruised to a three-set win (25-17, 25-21, 25-20) over the Navy Midshipmen Sunday afternoon at the Western Michigan Volleyball Tournament. It's the first win of the season for the Phoenix.
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The Phoenix offense was paced by Gillian Koning, who finished with 11 kills on the day while accumulating a hitting percentage of .385, and by Diane Pichelman, who had 10 while hitting .417. GB got nine digs from Kennedy Schmitz along with five blocks from Olivia Neumann to lead them defensively.
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"I'm really proud of the passion and energy we played with today," said head coach Abbey Sutherland. "More passion, more energy. That's what we want to be about. We consistently found ways to put pressure on Navy, and I loved the resilience we showed in continuing to figure out how all of our pieces fit together. Today we started to see that puzzle come together, and this is something we can really build off of. It's also always a cool experience to play a service academy. We had the opportunity to play Army last year and Navy this year, and you have a different level of respect for those teams and what those student-athletes do beyond their sport."
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Sutherland continued, "Gill was incredibly steady for us throughout the entire weekend and consistently found ways to get kills for our team, so she was very deserving of All-Tournament honors. I was also really excited about the offense Alexa ran today. She ran the show really well, and it was the most balanced we've looked offensively. There's a lot to be excited about as we continue to build."
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HOW IT HAPPENED
SET 1 | The Phoenix won the first point and held the lead the rest of the way to secure the first set by a dominant 25-17 score. Green Bay opened up its biggest lead, eight points, to close out the set. Green Bay supplemented their offense with five aces in the opening set.
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SET 2 | Green Bay won the second set 25-21 to swiftly take a 2-0 lead. The Phoenix took the set propelled by a solid performance on the attacking end, registering a .394 attack percentage with 15 kills in the set win. After the lead changed hands five times, the Phoenix took control for good at 22-21 and rode that advantage to victory.
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SET 3 | Green Bay took set three to win in straight sets. The Phoenix won the set 25-20, powered by another solid showing on the attacking side. Green Bay registered a .455 attack percentage with 17 kills in the set win. The Phoenix ended on a strong note, stretching their lead to its largest point in the set to finish out the frame. Green Bay's front row had a solid defensive performance, blocking five Navy attacks in the set.
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GAME NOTES
» Alexa Hernandez had a match-high three aces in the win.
» Green Bay attackers were helped by a match-high 34 assists from Alexa Hernandez.
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COMING UP
Green Bay will be back in action next weekend at the Golden Eagle Invitational hosted by Tennessee Tech. The Phoenix will start the weekend against Tennessee State on Friday at 12:30 p.m.
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