Box Score

The University of Wisconsin-Parkside volleyball team lost two nail-biting sets to start the match and was unable to recover in a loss to Missouri-St. Louis on Saturday. The Rangers dropped the first two sets 23-25 and 25-27 before succumbing to the Tritons in the third, 18-25. The loss knocks Parkside down to 5-3 in the GLVC while UMSL improves to 6-2.

"We played two close sets with opportunities to take them both but didn't make the plays at the end," said head coach Christine Paciero. "We need to play better."

Bridget Nickel led the Rangers with 11 kills, six blocks, and six digs. Adrienne Uthe led the defense with seven blocks while Shannon Curtis had 10 digs.

UMSL jumped out to a 7-2 lead in the opening set but the Rangers stormed back to score 14 of the next of the next 18 points to take a 16-12 lead. Nickel had three kills and two blocks during that span to rally Parkside to their biggest lead of the game.

The Tritons went on a run of their own to tie it as the set went back-and-forth over the final points. Addie Kramer finished a kill to make it 23-23 but UMSL scored the last two points to claim the set, 25-23.

Parkside took the lead in game two, 7-4, behind two aces from Kramer and a couple of kills from Nickel. The advantage grew to 15-10 on a block by Nickel and Brooke Schowalter but again the Tritons responded.

UMSL turned a five point deficit into a 23-20 lead thanks to a couple of mistakes by the Rangers. Parkside scored four straight to re-take the lead and earn a set point but they couldn't put the Tritons away.

Nickel and Uthe had another block to even the set at 25. But just like the opening game, UMSL scored the final two points to steal the set and gain control of the match.

The home team grabbed momentum in the third set taking a 13-6 lead but once again the Rangers battled back. A 10-3 spurt tied things at 16 as Parkside benefited from five straight errors, the last blocked by Uthe, to square the set.

From there however it appeared the Rangers ran out of gas as UMSL scored nine of the last 12 points to finish the sweep. Haley Woods ended the match with an ace as the Tritons solidified second place in the Western Division.

"We came out a bit deflated in the third set," said Paciero. "We recovered halfway through but did not have enough defensive intensity to take the lead."

The Rangers will go across town on Sunday to take on Maryville University. The match is set to begin at 3:00 p.m. as Parkside looks for a split of their trip to St. Louis.