Box Score

The University of Wisconsin-Parkside volleyball team earned a signature victory on Tuesday night with a 3-2 (21-25, 25-22, 22-25, 26-24, 15-11) win over 17^th-ranked Lewis University. The Rangers trailed 15-11 and down a set in the fourth before rallying for the victory.

Caroline Langer led Parkside with 19 kills and 14 digs while Bridget Nickel had 18 kills and 11 digs.  The win broke a 14 match winning streak for the Flyers over the Rangers with the last UWP win coming in 2003. Parkside is now 2-1 in the GLVC while Lewis falls to 1-2.
 
“Bridget and Caroline both played exceptionally well,” said head coach Christine Paciero. “The two of them were brilliant tonight. We were able to change the point of attack with them and they both had some really big swings.”
 
The two teams were locked in a tight match throughout the evening. Four points was the biggest lead for either team in the first two sets before getting even closer in sets three and four. Lewis' third set win featured 13 ties while the fourth, a Parkside triumph, had 10.
 
“We all said after the second set, 'This is so much fun,'” said Paciero. “This is the best part about volleyball, point-for-point, the teams were so competitive. It was a great match.”
 
Lewis seemed to have gained control of the match with a 25-22 third set victory. The set was tied at 20 before the Flyers rattled off five of the final seven points for the win. The Rangers seemed a bit dejected early in the fourth falling behind 7-2 before beginning to mount their comeback.
 
“This team is getting better at just playing point-by-point,” said Paciero. “We kept talking about staying relaxed and playing aggressive and I thought we did a really good job of  that when came back.”
 
The Rangers appeared to get back in a rhythm but couldn't cut much off the deficit. But trailing 15-11, they scored four straight points to tie the game. Nickel and Cassy Marx had kills before two mistakes by the Flyers tied the set.
 
The teams went back and forth at that point with Lewis still holding a slight 23-22 lead. But again the Rangers responded with a kill by Nickel to tie it. Lewis fought off one set point to tie it at 24 before Brooke Schowalter's kill gave Parkside another shot to knot the match. The Flyers then committed one of just four attack errors in the set to send it to the fifth game.
 
The Rangers pounced in the fifth set scoring six of the first eight points to take command. The lead ballooned to 12-6 on three straight kills by Addie Kramer but the Flyers weren't done yet.

A kill by Colleen Mitros and an error by Kramer got the score back to 13-11. But in front of a boisterous crowd the Flyers committed a big service error before Langer was credited with the game's final point on a Lewis block error.
 
“It was so exciting,” said Paciero. “It's just fun to see people enjoying the game. I hope that the whole campus enjoys it. That's what athletics brings to a campus, a little bit of life and enjoyment. I hope there's a little momentum that builds from that.”
 
Parkside will now take to the road for the first time in GLVC play with a weekend series at Saint Joseph's and Indianapolis. After a five-set loss to Southern Indiana, Tuesday night's match was pivotal in the Rangers quest for the GLVC Tournament.
 
“I think our team is gaining confidence, “said Paciero. “Both Lewis and Southern Indiana are good teams who play at a consistently high level and we're learning how to do that. We're just going to keep competing and hopefully good things will happen.”