University of Wisconsin Green Bay Athletics

EVANSTON, Ill. - The Green Bay volleyball team fought back after an early first-set deficit to secure a 3-1 victory (22-25, 25-21, 25-23, 25-23) over the LIU Sharks Friday at the Northwestern Invitational. The non-conference win moved the Phoenix's overall record to 3-4 on the season.
 
The Phoenix was led by a double-double from Kelsey Justman, who registered 10 kills and 13 digs on the day. Kirsten Fish and Gillian Koning also added 12 kills to help the attack. On the defensive end, Macy Kline chipped in with 17 digs, and Olivia Neumann added seven blocks. Alexa Hernandez dished out 41 assists for the Phoenix attack.
 
"This was a really good win for our team. LIU is picked to win their conference; they were very good last year, and they've already played an absolute gauntlet of a schedule. We knew how tough they would be; we told our team that all week, and they listened and responded," said head coach Abbey Sutherland. "I'm really proud of Kelsey Justman. She gave our team exactly what we needed tonight as a competitor and stepped into the moment. Alexa continues to settle in as the quarterback of our offense and is doing a great job of finding ways to make us better."
 
Sutherland continued, "We're continuing to work together, figure things out, and embrace the hard. Tonight, though, we're going to celebrate a really good win. Then we get back to work because we have two Power Four teams waiting for us the next two days. That's exactly the kind of challenge we want."
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
SET 1 | The Phoenix dropped a back-and-forth first set, losing 25-22 in a game that featured four lead changes and was tied 10 times. Neither team led by more than four points in the frame.
 
SET 2 | Green Bay fought back from a first-set loss to take set two 25-21, evening the match at 1-1. The Phoenix grabbed control of the set lead early on at 3-2 and never trailed from there on out. Green Bay led by as many as seven points at 24-17 before closing out the set. The Green Bay offense got a boost from three aces.
 
SET 3 | Green Bay went ahead 2-1 in the match after defeating the Sharks in the third set. The Phoenix scored first and never trailed in the set to secure a 25-23 victory. Green Bay opened up as much as a seven-point lead at 21-14 before closing out the set, collecting 17 kills along the way.
 
SET 4 | Green Bay finished off the match with a 25-23 fourth-set victory, winning their third straight set. Green Bay built up an 11-5 lead that proved enough for GB to cruise to the set and match win. GB got a solid defensive performance from a front row that blocked six LIU attacks in the stanza.
 
GAME NOTES
» Justman had a match-high two aces in the win.
» Green Bay outhit LIU .223 to .145.
» Diane Pichelman finished with 11 kills on the day.
» Friday night was the first all-time matchup for the two schools.
 
UP NEXT
The Phoenix will continue the weekend in Evanston when they take on Virginia Tech tomorrow at 4 p.m. GB will close out the weekend on Sunday against Northwestern at 3 p.m. Fans can watch that match on B1G+.
 
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