The Green Bay Phoenix women’s volleyball team earned a hard‑fought 3‑2 win over the Virginia Tech Hokies on Saturday at Welsh‑Ryan Arena during the Northwestern Invitational. The victory, secured in five sets (26‑24, 23‑25, 25‑16, 21‑25, 15‑9), lifted Green Bay’s overall record to 4‑4.
Key performances
Senior outside hitter Diane Pichelman led the offense with 17 kills and a .444 hitting percentage. Kelsey Justman added 15 kills, while Kirsten Fish contributed 11. Gillian Koning also reached double‑digit kills with 10.
Defensively, the Phoenix showed depth with three players recording double‑figure digs: Macy Kline posted a career‑high 24 digs, Kennedy Schmitz had 13, and Alexa Hernandez added 11 along with 44 assists.
Coach Sutherland on the win
Head coach Abbey Sutherland praised the team’s resilience, saying, “What a total team win. We learned a lot from our experience last weekend, and today we found a way to embrace the process, stay in the moment and believe in each other when it mattered most.” She highlighted Kline’s steady serve‑receive, Hernandez’s growing leadership, and Justman’s competitive spirit.
Set‑by‑set recap
Set 1: Green Bay edged out a 26‑24 win, rallying from a 24‑22 deficit with a four‑point run.
Set 2: The Hokies responded, taking the set 25‑23 after a brief Phoenix lead.
Set 3: The Phoenix dominated, never trailing and winning 25‑16, aided by three service aces.
Set 4: Virginia Tech forced a deciding set, winning 25‑21.
Set 5: Green Bay surged ahead early, building a 9‑4 lead and closing out the set 15‑9.
Looking ahead
The Phoenix will aim to stay unbeaten this weekend when they face Northwestern on Sunday at 3 p.m.
Original reporting: Appleton, WI News Feed (HLL/CB) — read the source article.
