Story by UNK Athletic Communications
Junior middle Phoenix Bailey had 17 kills and five blocks to help Pittsburg State defeat No. 8 Nebraska Kearney in four sets (19-25, -15, 24-26, 16-25) Saturday afternoon in Kansas. The Gorillas (8-14, 4-10) earn their fourth all-time win over the Lopers (21-3, 11-3) and pick up their fifth home win of the fall. Looking to bounce back from a four-set loss at No. 19 Central Oklahoma on Friday night, UNK got off to a rough start as it had seven kills in the first set, compared to 19 for the Gorillas. Five different Pitt players had three or four kills as they finished on a 12-6 run. The Lopers rolled in set two as they had 18 kills, hit .312 and never trailed. Right side Jaden Ferguson (Lincoln SW) had five kills with outside Emersen Cyza (Alliance) and middle Mia Berg (Eureka, Mo.) at four apiece. The match was decided in the third set as there were 12 ties and four lead changes. A kill by middle Trista Marx (Limon, Colo.) made it 22-21 UNK but a Phoenix kill helped Pitt reach set point, 24-23. After a timeout, the Lopers ties things up a kill by Berg but Phoenix responded again and then recorded a solo block to make it 2-1.In the fourth set, Pitt rolled again as they hit .359 (17-3-39) while holding UNK to a .116 effort (11-6-43). Phoenix had five of her kills in this set with senior outside Janae Thurston adding five in nine swings. The Gorillas out hit the Lopers by a .244 to .193 margin overall, recording 12 more kills and digging up 16 more balls. Pitt also had four more blocks with UNK plus one in the serve game. Besides Phoenix, Thurston finished with 14 kills and a team-best 26 digs, sophomore libero Josie McCroskey was at 23 digs and four assists with freshman outside Avery DeLong providing 12 kills, five blocks and a .375 efficiency. Berg paced UNK with 14 kills, four block assists and a .379 attack percentage with Ferguson at 11 kills, 18 digs and a .256 effort. Next, libero Lauren Taubenheim (Lincoln Pius) had 22 digs with Marx at seven kills and a .316 efficiency. UNK hosts Emporia State (11-10, 5-8) on Tuesday night.