(GREEN BAY COMMUNICATIONS) GREEN BAY, Wis. –The Green Bay volleyball team celebrated Senior Day in style at the Kress with a win over the Robert Morris Colonials, 3-1 (25-23, 25-22, 24-26, 25-14, 25-14). The Phoenix has finished the season as the Horizon League No. 4 seed and will play No. 5 Purdue Fort Wayne in the Horizon League Quarterfinals next Friday at Wright State at 5 p.m. CT.
Green Bay finished the 2024 regular season 14-16 and 11-7 in Horizon League play.
Cora Behnke and Katie Schulz each finished the day with 16 kills each to lead the Phoenix offense. Olivia Neumann also had a career-high 10 kills and eight blocks. Diane Pichelman also finished with 10 kills. A lot of GB’s work on the defensive end was done at the net, with Pichelman and Schell contributing four blocks each on top of Neumann’s eight. Abby Gardner finished with 11 digs while Kendall Schara had 10.
Calli Gentry spread the ball around the offense, finishing with 50 kills. It’s the fifth time this season she has had 50+ assists in a match.
HOW IT HAPPENED
SET 1 | The Phoenix endured in a back-and-forth first set to win 25-23 in a stanza that featured five lead changes and eight ties. Neither team led by more than three points in the match. The Phoenix got 17 of their 25 points via the kill.
SET 2 | Green Bay won set two 25-22 to promptly grab a 2-0 lead. Green Bay never trailed and opened up as much as a five-point lead at 17-12 before closing out the set. Green Bay’s front row had a solid defensive performance, blocking four Robert Morris attacks in the frame and capitalizing on 11 Robert Morris attacking errors.
SET 3 | It looked like the Phoenix might complete the sweep in the third set, leading 23-19. However, the Colonials wouldn’t go down without a fight, rattling off a 5-0 that propelled them to a 26-24 set win.
SET 4 | Green Bay then responded with a dominant 25-14 fourth-set victory. The Phoenix scored the first five points and never looked back. The fourth set was the strongest offensively for GB, as they finished with 16 kills on a .314 hitting percentage.
GAME NOTES
» Gentry had a match-high three aces in the win.
» Green Bay has qualified for its fourth-straight Horizon League Championships.
» Jocelyn Jourdan led RMU with 13 kills on the day.
» GB outhit RMU .246 to .151.
» GB has never played Purdue Fort Wayne during the postseason.
» The Phoenix beat PFW twice earlier this year, 3-0 and 3-1.
ON THE HORIZON
As mentioned earlier, the Phoenix will square off next Friday against the No. 5 seed Purdue Fort Wayne in the Horizon League Quarterfinals. Wright State will host the Championship weekend at C. J. Mclin Gymnasium. The HL semifinals and championship are scheduled for Nov. 23 and 24 respectively.
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