FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Mark Albanese, Assistant Athletic Director for Sports Media Relations

SOMERS, Wis. (Oct 17, 2013)-- After five straight matches inside DeSimone Gymnasium the University of Wisconsin-Parkside volleyball team is back on the road, heading to the Hoosier State to face Great Lakes Valley Conference rivals Saint Joseph's College and the University of Indianapolis.

The Rangers take on St. Joseph's on Friday at 7 p.m. before squaring off against UIndy on Saturday at 2 p.m.

About the Rangers: UW-Parkside (10-8, 4-5 GLVC) hits the road after a homestand in which the Rangers posted a 3-2 record inside DeSimone Gymnasium. The Rangers split a pair of games last weekend, downing Bellarmine University 3-1 (30-28, 20-25, 25-21, 25-16) on Friday before succumbing to the University of Southern Indiana 3-1 (25-20, 15-25, 25-23, 25-23) on Saturday.

Makenzie Fahnestock shined for the Rangers against Bellarmine, posting a career-high 20 kills while also finishing with 15 digs and four aces. Against USI, the Rangers lost in four sets despite outscoring the visiting Screaming Eagles 91-90 over the course of the match. UW-P also owned a 54-44 edge in kills in the match, getting 15 from Lisa Gregerson, 13 from Fahnestock and 10 from Bridget Nickel.

Fahnestock leads the Rangers in kills with 171 on the season (2.6 per set) while Nickel leads the squad in kills per set (3.0). Lauren Hickson leads the team in assists, averaging 8.5 per set while ranking third in the conference in aces with 0.4 per set. Sarah Mlachnik paces the squad's defensive efforts, averaging 5.25 digs per set, the third best average in the GLVC.

About the Pumas: St. Joseph's (6-12, 3-6 GLVC) heads into Friday's tilt having won two straight, victimizing McKendree University 3-2 (25-20, 20-25, 15-25, 25-15, 15-11) on Oct. 11 and University of Illinois Springfield 3-1 (25-17, 25-23, 25-27, 25-23) on Oct. 12. The weekend win streak snapped the Pumas out of a funk, having dropped seven of their previous eight.

Five of SJC's six victories have come on the road as the Pumas are just 1-4 inside the Scharf Alumni Fieldhouse. St. Joseph's lone home victory was a 3-0 decision at the expense of William Jewell College on Sept. 28.

SJC ranks 15th in the GLVC in opponent's hitting percentage, allowing the opposition to hit .230. Katherine Brown leads the squad in kills, averaging 2.5 per set while Katie Dugan is the Pumas top server, collecting 0.4 aces a set and ranking fourth in the GLVC. Megan Sturm averages 8.7 assists a set while defensively, Alyssa Guarnaccia averages 4.3 digs/set to lead the Pumas.

The Rangers and Pumas met twice last season with UW-Parkside sweeping the season series. The Rangers downed SJC 3-0 (25-21, 25-19, 25-20) in Rensselaer on Sept. 15 before breezing past the Pumas 3-0 (25-15, 25-15, 25-12) on Nov. 2.

About the Greyhounds: Indianapolis (11-7, 7-2 GLVC) heads into Friday showdown with Lewis looking to snap a two-game slide. The Greyhounds sit tied for second place in the GLVC East with the current two-game slide preceded by a seven-match win streak.

The Hounds split a pair of GLVC road matches last week, downing UIS 3-0 (25-21, 25-19, 25-20) on Friday before falling 3-2 (29-27, 16-25, 13-25, 26-24, 15-12) to McKendree on Saturday. UIndy faced Cedarville University on Tuesday in a non-conference clash, succumbing 3-2 (25-22, 21-25, 15-25, 25-17, 15-7) to the Yellow Jackets.

UIndy has been tough to beat at home, posting a 4-0 record inside the Ruth Lily Center in 2013 while winning 31 of its last 32 home matches.

UIndy ranks second in the GLVC in assists with 12.5 per set with Meghan Binkard leading the charge, ranking second in the league with 10.8 assists per set. Brittany Anglemyer ranks fifth in the league in hitting percentage (.306) while Hailey Brown in seventh in kills (3.3 per set). Becca Lira ranks fourth in the GLVC in  blocks (1.08/set) while Alyssa Garrett is ninth in digs (4.5 per set).

The Rangers and Greyhounds met three times in 2012, with UIndy securing two of three. UIndy downed UW-P 3-0 (25-17, 25-14, 25-8) on Sept. 14 before the Rangers prevailed 3-2 (25-23, 25-22, 17-25, 20-25, 15-8) on Senior Day on Nov. 3 in Somers. UIndy had the last laugh, downing the Rangers 3-0 (25-14, 25-16, 25-14) in the opening round of the GLVC Tournament on Nov. 16.

DeSimone Advantage: Over the past four seasons, UW-Parkside has compiled a record of 32-11 in home games at DeSimone Gymnasium. The Rangers are 8-4 in home games this season with two of the four losses coming at the hands of nationally-ranked foes.

100-Club: Head Coach Christine Paciero notched her 100th career win in the season opener against Anderson University on Sept. 6. Paciero, now in her third season at UW-Parkside, owns a career mark of 109-72 and a 46-34 record with the Rangers. Paciero compiled a 63-38 record in three seasons at Dominican University (2008-2010) before taking over the reins at UW-P.

Preseason Prognostications: UW-Parkside was selected to finish third in the GLVC East Division by the league's 16 head coaches in the annual preseason poll. The University of Indianapolis was the preseason favorite in the East followed by Lewis University. Truman State was picked to win the West Division with 2012 GLVC Champion Rockhurst University selected to place second.

GLVC in the Top 25: Truman State University is the lone GLVC squad in the Top 25, holding steady at No. 17. UIndy, Lewis and Rockhurst University all appear in the "others receiving votes" section.