Comeback Falls Short as 'Cats Fall 3-2 to Green Bay

Saturday, September 15

Davidson, N.C.

5:00 pm

Davidson College Athletics

4-6

Green Bay

7-5

Green Bay

Davidson

Photo by: Tim Cowie - DavidsonPhotos.com

Comeback Falls Short as 'Cats Fall 3-2 to Green Bay

9/15/2012 7:29:00 PM | Volleyball

Box Score

By: Ashley Bailey

Match Highlights
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DAVIDSON, N.C. - Davidson erased a two-set deficit, but could not complete the comeback as it dropped a 3-2 match to Green Bay in the final game of the 2012 Wildcat Classic Saturday evening at Belk Arena. After falling 25-11 and 32-30 in the first two sets, the 'Cats came back with wins of 25-14 and 25-22 before falling in the tiebreaker, 15-11.

Green Bay took first at the tournament, going 3-0 on the weekend with the Wildcats as the only team to take a set from the Phoenix all weekend. High Point finished second with a 2-1 record, while the host Wildcats claimed third at 1-2. N.C. Central went 0-3 at the tournament.

Tindall Sewell, who led the team in hitting at .288, was the 'Cats representative on the all-tournament team. Sewell finished with an attacking percentage of .375 in the final match, recording 13 kills, four block assists and a block solo. Caroline Brown led the 'Cats with 18 kills and 16 digs for a double-double along with a service ace. Ariel Ley had 51 assists and nine digs, as well as five kills and two block assists. Morgan Shannon boasted 17 digs on the night, but Molly Crenshaw was the team leader with 33. Taylor Pisel was also a factor in the scoring with 11 kills and four block assists, and Hannah Rau added in three block assists and seven kills.

Monica Anderson's 22 kills led Green Bay, though three other Phoenix also finished with double digit kills. Leah Van Zeeland had 10 kills and 16 digs along with a pair of service aces, while Carmen Leitermann had 18 kills. Lyndsay Zabkowicz recorded 18 kills and Leah Poel, the tournament MVP, had a match-high 59 assists.

The Wildcats came out sluggish in the first set, as Green Bay scored 10 unanswered points to take a 13-1 lead. Kills by Sewell and Earnhardt put the score at 18-7 in favor of the Phoenix, but the Wildcats could not come back from the slow start. Green Bay took the set 25-11 on a kill by Anderson to lead 1-0.

Set number two proved to be a battle for both teams as the squads traded scores through the first ten points. A kill by Leitermann gave the Phoenix a 15-12 lead, but the Wildcats kept themselves in the set with a block by Sewell and Brown. Back-to-back kills from Brown tied things up at 23-23, and a block from Sewell gave the 'Cats the lead. Kills by Anderson twice tied things up for the Phoenix before the Wildcats took a 30-29 lead on a GB error. However, a trio of kills by Green Bay would close out the set at 32-30 and take a 2-0 lead in the match.

Davidson dominated the third set, shooting out to a 10-5 advantage. Ley served four consecutive points, including an ace, as the 'Cats stretched their lead to 13-5. Three straight points by the Phoenix cut their deficit to five, but the 'Cats continued on with kills from Ley and Sewell for a 19-12 lead. A kill by Rau ended the set at 24-14 as the 'Cats made it a 2-1 match.

The fourth set was a closer battle for the 'Cats, who rattled off five straight points to take a 13-8 advantage. A service ace by Rau kept them ahead 15-9, and they would stretch the lead to seven on a kill by Brown. Three straight by the Phoenix cut their deficit to three at 20-17, and they would then score another trio of points to make it a 22-21 match. However the 'Cats were able to protect their lead, as a kill from Sewell ended the set at 25-22 with the match tied at two games apiece.

The squads traded points throughout the fifth set with neither team taking a clear lead through the first 11 points. The Phoenix then rallied for four straight scores to earn the 15-11 win and the 3-2 overall victory.

Davidson, who falls to 4-6 on the season, will hit the road to open conference play next weekend. The 'Cats head to Greenville, S.C., Friday to face Furman in an 8 p.m. matchup before taking on Wofford in Spartanburg, S.C., on Saturday.

WILDCAT CLASSIC ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM
Leah Poel – Green Bay (MVP)
Leah Van Zeeland – Green Bay
Monica Anderson – Green Bay
Courtney Johnk – High Point
Annemarie Chin – High Point
Tindall Sewell - Davidson
Melissa Rabell Pineiro – N.C. Central