Green Bay, Milwaukee and Youngstown State Open League Play With Wins

Friday, September 27 Results
Green Bay 3, Wright State 0 (25-22, 25-20, 25-11)
Milwaukee 3, Oakland 1 (25-21, 25-12, 27-29, 25-17)
Youngstown State 3, Cleveland State 0 (25-19, 25-20, 28-26)

Green Bay 3, Wright State 0
A trio of hitters tallied double-digit kills on Friday night to help Green Bay (6-7, 1-0 HL) post a season-high hitting percentage and sweep visiting Wright State (6-12, 0-1 HL) 3-0 (25-22, 25-20, 25-11) in the Horizon League opener for both teams at the Kress Events Center.

Hitting over .300 in each set, Green Bay’s offense excelled with 46 kills and a .347 hitting percentage. It was the second-straight sweep for the Phoenix and the second time in as many matches head coach Michaela Franklin’s team hit over .300. Sophomore Michaela Gunderson had 10 kills on just 15 kills to lead the Phoenix with a career-high hitting percentage of .667.

Senior Leah Van Zeeland had six of her team-high 13 kills in the opening set as Green Bay rattled off five-straight points early and led the majority of a 25-22 Phoenix victory.

In set two, Wright State led 20-18 before Franklin called a timeout that got her squad’s attention. On the strength of Van Zeeland’s serve and three kills from senior Monica Anderson, Green Bay scored the final seven points of the set to lead 2-0. Anderson finished the match with 11 kills.

Green Bay extended that run into set three with the opening five points. After the Raiders closed the deficit to 9-6, Emily Riese served during a 9-0 run that put Green Bay in front with a dominant 19-8 edge, and the Phoenix closed out the clean sweep 25-11.

Riese directed the Green Bay offense with 32 assists while sophomore libero Jillian Bauer tallied a match-best 16 digs.

Heidi Splinter led the Raiders with seven kills as Wright State hit just .042 in the match.

Milwaukee 3, Oakland 1
Myanna Ruiz had 15 kills to lead five Panthers in double figures as the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee captured a 25-21, 25-12, 27-29, 25-17 win over Oakland Friday night at the Klotsche Center.

The Panthers (5-8, 1-0 Horizon) actually controlled much of the match but let the third set slip away before regaining control to pull away in the fourth.

Rachel Neuberger and Julie Kolinske added 13 kills apiece while Nicole Latzig and Hannah Blanchard had 10 apiece. Milwaukee wound up with 67 kills to just 45 for Oakland, outhitting the Golden Grizzlies .233-.119.

UWM also posted another strong defensive effort, led by Taylor Golabowski's 23 digs and Neuberger's six blocks.

The match marked the Horizon League opener for both team and was Oakland's first-ever league contest after moving from the Summit League this summer.

Taylor Humm led Oakland (6-9, 0-1) with 14 kills.

Milwaukee's offense was as balanced as it has been all season. Not only did five players reach double figures in kills, but the chances amongst those hitter were well-distributed.

The Panthers got off on the right foot with a convincing win in the first set. Milwaukee broke an 8-all tie with eight of the next 10 points to claim a 16-10 advantage. The lead eventually grew to 19-12 on an Oakland error and the Panthers went up 24-16 following kills from Blanchard and Sammi Herron. Oakland scored five in a row to get closer but a kill from Ruiz finished things off.

Milwaukee dominated the second set. UWM trailed 7-5 in the early going before rattling off 14-straight points. The run included four kills from Ruiz and a pair of service aces from Blanchard. Milwaukee's lead was 20-8 after a Neuberger kill and 23-11 following a kill by Ruiz. An Oakland error eventually finished things off.

The Panthers fell behind by as many as four points early in the third set before rallying to claim a 16-15 lead on a kill by Neuberger. Milwaukee then fell behind again but fought off three set-points to tie the frame at 24. UWM then had match-point three times, but each time Oakland countered. Finally, a Milwaukee hitting error followed by a block from Ciara Schultz and Brooke Wadsworth kept the Grizzlies alive in the match.

UWM then restored order in the fourth set. Milwaukee too the lead for good at 14-13 on a block by Neuberger and Kayla Price and turned that into a seven-point run. The burst included a pair of kills from Latzig and an ace by Golabowski, pushing the Panthers up 20-13. The lead hit 24-15 on a Blanchard kill before a kill from Ruiz clinched the win for Milwaukee.

Youngstown State 3, Cleveland State 0
The Youngstown State volleyball team put together an energetic and solid all-around effort to sweep defending conference champion Cleveland State in the Horizon League opener for both teams on Friday at Beeghly Center.

Missy Hundelt had 10 kills and 14 digs, and Alexis Egler added 10 kills for the Penguins, who defeated the Vikings for the first time since 2001. Erika West added a match-high 16 digs, and Casey D'Ambrose and Jessie Gerig combined for 31 assists in the Penguins' 6-2 offense. YSU won 25-19, 25-20, 28-26 for its first victory in a conference opener in 15 years.

Youngstown State was particularly strong on defense, holding the Horizon League's top hitting team to a .100 attack percentage. The Vikings averaged four kills fewer per set than their standard coming into the match.

Kerry Winchester had seven kills to lead Cleveland State.

The Penguins posted five blocks and a .290 attack percentage in the opening set and did not trail after taking the lead at 6-5. YSU's largest lead of the set was three until a 5-1 run put the Red and White ahead 23-18. Hundelt and Shannon Watson finished off the set with back-to-back kills for YSU.

A kill by Gerig started a five-point run for the Penguins that put them up 13-9 in the second set, and they built their lead to five at 18-13. Cleveland State scored the next four points to cut the margin to one at 18-17, but YSU closed the set on a 7-3 run to take the two-set lead. Egler had two kills in that final stretch, and Jenna Cavanaugh had the kill on set point.

The Penguins looked poised to run away with the third set by leading 18-12 midway through and 24-18 after an Egler kill. Cleveland State went on to score the next six points of the set to tie it, and Aly Ryan's kill ended the run and gave the Penguins their seventh match point. Cavanaugh hit just wide on the next point, and Kelly Kiger's kill put Cleveland State ahead 26-25. Hundelt and Cavanaugh had a block, just the second for YSU since the first set, for the next point, and Nichele Johnson and Cavanaugh had kills to complete the victory.