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

SOMERS, Wis. (Nov. 13, 2013)-- With two games remaining in the regular season, the University of Wisconsin-Parkside volleyball squad heads to the Land of Lincoln to face a pair of Great Lakes Valley Conference East Division foes in the hopes of securing one of the available wild card spots for the 2013 GLVC Championship Tournament. The Rangers face McKendree University on Friday before taking on the University of Illinois Springfield on Saturday.

The Rangers and Bearcats meet on Friday at 7 p.m. inside the Melvin Price Convocation Center. UW-Parkside returns to the court on Saturday, facing the Prairie Stars at 3 p.m. inside The Recreation and Athletic Center (TRAC). Live stats and video will be available for both contests.

About the Rangers: UW-Parkside (18-11, 8-8 GLVC) remains in the hunt with five other GLVC squads for the two at-large spots to the eight-team GLVC Championship Tournament.

The Rangers fell 3-1 (23-25, 25-12, 25-15, 25-15) to Lewis University on Tuesday night, snapping a two-match win streak after UW-P collected a pair of wins in Missouri over the weekend.

Against Lewis, the Rangers scored the final five points of the first set, winning 25-23 to stake an early lead. The advantage proved fleeting as the host Flyers won the next three sets to snap the Ranger win streak.

Before the loss to Lewis, UW-P claimed weekend wins over Drury University and Missouri University S&T. The Rangers swept the host Panthers 3-0 (25-21, 25-19, 26-24) on Saturday night before needing five sets to dispose the Miners 3-2 (23-25, 25-23, 25-20, 19-25, 15-11) on Sunday afternoon.

Leading the squad in kills is Makenzie Fahnestock, averaging 2.76 per set while Bridget Nickel and Lisa Gregerson average 2.6 and 2.13 kills per set, respectively. Lauren Hickson is the lone player to appear in all 105 sets this season, leading the team in assists with 8.0 per set. Kendyl Danelski has been a force at the net for the Rangers, collecting a team-high 72 blocks (10 solo, 72 assisted) while Jeni Heller had 58 on the season. Hickson has a team-high 34 service aces with Fahnestock and Rebecca Roembke each adding 22 while on defense, Sarah Mlachnik paces the team, averaging 5.3 digs per set.

About the Bearcats: McKendree (12-17, 7-9 GLVC) is among the six squads still vying for a wild card spot in the GLVC Tournament after downing Illinois Springfield 3-1 (18-25, 25-21, 25-19, 25-9) on Tuesday night. The Bearcats have won five of their last six matches with the lone setback a 3-0 (21-25, 21-25, 18-25) loss on the road to Rockhurst University on Nov. 10.

Bailey Kampwerth is the Bearcats' leader in kills, averaging 2.38 per set while Hannah Wessel averages 2.08 per set. Rebecca Nauman and Breanna Howe are the primary setters, averaging 5.0 assists per set and 4.5 per set, respectively. Maddie Kelly paces the squad in digs, averaging 5.5 per set while Maureen Nesbit averages 3.1 per set.

The Rangers and Bearcats last met on Oct. 5 inside DeSimone Gymnasium with host UW-Parkside claiming the 3-1 (25-17, 25-13, 21-25, 27-25) victory. The two squads split the season series last year with each team prevailing on their home court.

About the Prairie Stars: Illinois Springfield (7-20, 3-13 GLVC) heads into the final weekend of the regular season having lost five of its last six games. The Prairie Stars' lone victory during that stretch was a 3-1 victory over William Jewell College on Nov. 10 in Liberty, Mo.

Of Illinois Springfield's seven wins, four have come inside the TRAC. UIS is 4-7 inside the TRAC but just 1-6 in their home gym during the GLVC season.

Sara Baker leads UIS in kills, averaging 2.64 per set while Ashley Beaton adds 2.2. JoAnna Hoffman and Jamie Packer average 8.6 and 6.0 assists per set while Kayla Katarzynski powers the Prairie Star defense, averaging 4.5 digs per set.

UW-Parkside and UIS last met on Oct. 4 in Somers with the host Rangers earning the 3-0 (25-20, 25-17, 25-19) victory.

GLVC Leaders: Lauren Hickson ranks third in the GLVC in service aces per set (0.32) while Sarah Mlachnik is fourth in digs (5.30). As a team, UW-P ranks fourth in the league in opponent hitting percentage (.161).

Road Warriors: UW-P's final five games of the regular season are all on the road. A little over halfway through the road swing, the Rangers are 2-1 in those contests.

GLVC Tournament: UW-Parkside has qualified for the conference tournament 10 times, including each of the past two seasons. The Rangers made the GLVC Tournament on eight occasions over the course of a nine-year span (1995, 1996, 1997, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003) before having a seven-year tournament drought. The top three teams from each division automatically qualify for the tournament with the final two spots going to the top remaining teams regardless of division.

DeSimone Advantage: Over the past four seasons, UW-Parkside has compiled a record of 33-12 in home games at DeSimone Gymnasium. The Rangers are 9-5 in home games this season with two of the five 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 117-75 and a 54-37 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: Two GLVC squads are ranked in the most recent Top 25 Poll. Truman State University leads the way, dropping two spots to No. 23 while Rockhurst University remains No. 25 for the second consecutive week. The University of Southern Indiana, Lewis University and the University of Indianapolis are all receiving votes in this week's poll.