DAYTON, Ohio
(GreenBayPhoenix.com) - Sophomore Brittany Groth (Oak Creek, Wis.) tied a
school record for digs and junior Abbey
Gitter (Hortonville, Wis.) had 11 kills to lead visiting Green Bay (11-18,
7-8 HL) to its third-straight victory Saturday at Wright State (8-19, 3-11 HL).
The Phoenix backed up its upset of Butler Friday night, downing the Raiders 3-0
(25-23, 25-20, 27-25) in Horizon League volleyball action to clinch a spot in the
conference tournament.
"I am really proud of how hard we fought to not only win
the match, but to win it in three sets," said head coach Debbie Kirch. "Last
night was an emotional win so I knew today would be tough. Wright State is a
very aggressive team and plays with a lot of emotion. We had to dig ourselves
out of some deep holes."
Groth, one of the league leaders in digs per set,
totaled 26 in just three sets Saturday to tie the school record for digs in a
three-set match. Her total tied the record held by current Green Bay assistant
coach Sarah Rauen, who had 26
against UIC on Oct. 21, 2005.
Junior Kelly
Mischler (Kaukauna, Wis.) added nine
kills to Gitter's total and recorded just one error in 18 swings for a .444
hitting percentage. Freshman Lyndsay
Zabkowicz (Oak Creek, Wis.) added
nine kills as the Phoenix hit .186 as a team. Senior setter Whitney Schott (Roscoe, Ill.) handed out 33 assists in the match.
In a tight opening set, Green Bay pulled out the 25-23
win late with back-to-back points. Sophomore Carmen Leitermann
(Schofield, Wis.) tallied a kill to break a 23-23 tie and a Raider attack error
ended the set. It was the fourth-straight set this season that Green Bay had
defeated Wright State 25-23.
The Phoenix dominated set two, using a 6-1 early to
take a 15-9 lead it would not relinquish. Green Bay's lead would reach as many
as eight (21-13) before the visitors earned the win 25-20 on a kill from junior
Carlie Willison (Greenfield, Wis.).
After falling behind 6-0 in set three, Green Bay used
a furious rally to recover. Trailing 15-11, the Phoenix won eight of the next
nine points to lead 19-16. WSU rallied to reclaim the lead and earn a match
point at 25-24, but a kill from Willison and back-to-back kills from Gitter
ended the match.
Green Bay returns home for its regular-season finale
on Friday, hosting UIC at 7 p.m. at the Kress Center. Schott will be honored after
the match during senior day ceremonies.
