Box Score

The UW-Parkside volleyball team fell in its season opener on Friday morning at the Ferris State University Invitational against conference rival, Drury University. The Rangers evened things up at one after the first two sets but eventually dropped the match, 3-1 (21-25, 25-19, 21-25, 21-25). The tournament continues later today when Parkside takes on the host school at 5:00 p.m.

"We were definitely excited to get back on the game floor and start the season," said Christine Paciero after her first match with the Rangers. "We played respectably but we definitely have higher expectations for ourselves."

Addie Kramer led the Rangers with 14 kills while Caroline Langer added 11. Adrienne Uthe led the defense with six blocks while Bridget Nickel had four. Parkside had 11 blocks all told. Shannon Curtis chipped in a team-high 11 digs.

"I don't think we played with as much organization and intensity as we would like," said Paciero. "Our passing needs to get better but I have no doubt we'll be able to get where we need to be."

The Rangers got off to a slow start in the first set as the Panthers jumped out to a 13-5 lead early. They were able to get the deficit down to three at 18-15 on a tip kill by Courtney Stack  but could get no closer the rest of the way.

The Rangers controlled game two from the onset jumping out to a 10-1 lead on nine straight serves by Langer. Things never got closer than six as Parkside evened the match.

Drury took a big lead early in game three and led by as many as eight before a late Ranger rally threatened to turn the match. A block by Kramer cut the Panther lead to 23-21 but Drury scored the final two points to claim the set.

The match's final set was back-and-forth throughout with 10 ties and the final score proving to be the biggest lead for either team. A Langer kill made brought the Rangers to within one at 19-18 but Alex Smith's match-high 21st kill eventually finished things off for the Panthers.

Check back later today for more info on the tournament and results from Friday night's match against Ferris State.