(GREEN BAY PHOENIX ATHLETICS) – GREEN BAY, Wis. – Kendall’s Battle at the Capital Credit Union Classic came to an end Saturday afternoon at the Kress Center, as the Green Bay volleyball team fell in straight sets to the Northern Iowa Panthers (21-25, 22-25, 20-25).
Freshman Kayla Birmingham had a career day to lead the Phoenix offense, finishing with a career-high eight kills. Gillian Koning also had seven kills. Defensively, GB had two players reach double figures in digs, with Kennedy Schmitz recording 17 and Emma Best tallying 10. From the front row, Diane Pichelman contributed five blocks.
The Panthers had three players with double-figure kills, led by Lily Dykstra with 16.
HOW IT HAPPENED
SET 1 | The two teams battled back and forth in the match’s opening set. GB found themselves with a 20-18 lead after a Diane Pichelman kill and a Panther attack error. However, the visitors rallied to close the set, scoring seven of the set’s final eight points and winning it 25-21.
SET 2 | Green Bay then lost another close one in set two, 25-22, to fall behind in the match two sets to none. Both offenses were on fire in the second, with the Phoenix finishing with 18 kills on a .472 hitting percentage and the Panthers tallying up 21 kills of their own on a .439 hitting percentage.
SET 3 | UNI secured the sweep in set three, having an advantage most of the way before closing it out 25-20. The visitors once again had a strong end to the set, finishing on a 5-1 run to close it out.
GAME NOTES
» Emma Johnson had a match-high two aces while also racking up a team-high 28 assists.
» UNI outscored GB 75-63 across the three sets.
» UNI had 53 kills to GB’s 35.
» Green Bay had a strong day defensively, finishing with nine blocks to the Panthers’ three.
ALL-TOURNAMENT SELECTION
Green Bay’s Diane Pichelman was named to the All-Tournament Team at the conclusion of the weekend. Pichelman finished the weekend with 47 kills across three matches, hitting a scorching .427. The Sophomore Middle Blocker was also key defensively, finishing second on the team with 10 blocks on the weekend.
UP NEXT
Green Bay is set to open Horizon League play next week when it hosts Youngstown State on Sept. 26-27.
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