(GREEN BAY ATHLETICS) EVANSTON, ILL – The Green Bay volleyball team rallied from down two sets to none to earn a comeback five-set victory (9-25, 27-29, 25-20, 25-23, 15-12) against the Northwestern Wildcats Sunday on the road at Welsh-Ryan Arena. Green Bay has now won three straight and moved to 5-4 on the season.
The Phoenix offense was paced once again by Diane Pichelman, who finished with 14 kills on the day while accumulating a hitting percentage of .333 after leading GB with 17 kills yesterday against Virginia Tech. Kirsten Fish added 13 kills, and Kayla Birmingham chipped in with 10 as part of a balanced Green Bay attack. Defensively, the Phoenix had three players reach double figures in digs, including Kelsey Justman’s career-high 18, 16 from Macy Kline, and 13 more from Kendall Schara. From the front row, Pichelman and Fish contributed six blocks each. Alexa Hernandez finished with 50 assists, her second time with 50+ assists on the year.
Hernandez was named the Tournament MVP while Kelsey Justman and Diane Pichelman made the All-Tournament Team.
HOW IT HAPPENED
SET 1 | The Phoenix fell behind early, losing a tough first set 25-9. Northwestern started the set going up 3-0 and never looked back.
SET 2 | Green Bay lost a closer second set, 29-27. The Phoenix couldn’t persevere past a furious Northwestern rally in the second set, falling after leading at 19-10 earlier in the set.
SET 3 | After dropping the opening two sets, Green Bay fought back to take set three and make it a 2-1 match. The Phoenix took set three 25-20. When the Wildcats held a 16-15 lead, the Phoenix rattled off a 6-0 run that proved the difference.
SET 4 | Green Bay continued the comeback, winning the fourth set 25-23. The set was back-and-forth, with five lead changes and 10 ties. Neither team was able to grab a lead larger than three points along the way. Green Bay supplemented their offense with three aces in the set.
SET 5 | Green Bay showed even more resilience in the fifth set, responding after going down 9-7 to start. GB won eight of the final 11 points to take the fifth set 15-12.
GAME NOTES
» The win is the first for the Phoenix against the Wildcats in program history. Coming into the day, GB was 0-2 in the all-time series.
» Today’s win was the first against a Big Ten opponent since the 2019 season.
» Justman had a match-high three aces in the win; Kendall Schara had two.
» Northwestern outhit Green Bay .199 to .165.
UP NEXT
The Phoenix will open its 2026 home slate on Friday against Western Illinois at 6 p.m.
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