GREEN BAY, Wis. (Nov. 14, 2009) - The Green Bay Phoenix volleyball team (10-19, 5-11 Horizon League) fell by a score of 3-1 to Valparaiso (22-9, 12-4) Saturday afternoon at the Kress Center, but more importantly, still clinched the sixth and final Horizon League Tournament spot by virtue of Youngstown State's loss at Wright State.
Green Bay will begin play Friday in Cleveland, Ohio, against third-seeded Milwaukee. The six seeds are: No. 1 Cleveland State, No. 2 Valparaiso, No. 3 Milwaukee, No. 4 Butler, No. 5 UIC and No. 6 Green Bay. The top two seeds receive byes into the semifinals.
Saturday's match against Valparaiso was decided by a 13-25, 22-25, 25-18, 23-25 score. The Phoenix struggled in the opening set, but battled back to outscore the Crusaders by two points the rest of the way. The final three sets featured 17 ties and 11 lead changes.
Holly Visser (Waupun, Wis.) and Nikki Hintze fittingly led the way on Senior Day, as each tallied double-doubles. Visser had a team-high 16 kills and 21 digs, while Hintze tallied 10 kills and 11 digs. The team's third senior, Lynsey Thiel (Franklin, Wis.) had season highs with nine kills and five blocks, including four solo stuffs.
Valpo outhit the Phoenix by a .217 to .165 count to earn a season sweep of Green Bay. Angie Porche had 22 kills and 20 digs to lead the Crusaders.
--www.GreenBayPhoenix.com--
