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

SOMERS, Wis. (Oct. 2, 2014)-- The University of Wisconsin-Parkside women's volleyball squad closes out a five-match road swing this weekend, traveling to Indiana and Kentucky to face Great Lakes Valley Conference East Division rivals University of Southern Indiana and Bellarmine University.
 
The Rangers and Screaming Eagles hit the floor at 7 p.m. on Friday in Evansville while UW-Parkside and Bellarmine tango at 3 p.m. (Eastern Time) on Saturday. Live stats are available for both matches while a video stream will also be available for the USI match.
 
About the Rangers: UW-Parkside (6-6, 3-4 GLVC) looks to snap a two-match slide after falling 3-1 (25-16, 25-18, 23-25, 25-11) to McKendree University on Sunday and 3-0 (25-21, 25-19, 25-12) to East Division co-leader Lewis University on Tuesday night. Prior to that, the Rangers netted a three set sweep of the University of Illinois Springfield, downing the Prairie Stars 27-25, 25-18, 25-19 on Friday night.
 
Jackie Langer leads the Ranger and ranks eighth in the GLVC in kills, averaging 3.1 per set while Rebecca Roembke chips in 2.6 kills per set. Jeni Heller contributes 2.5 kills per set while leading the team in blocks with 33. Megan Pekarek ranks eighth in the league with 9.7 assists per set while sitting tied for the team lead in service aces along with Langer with seven on the season.
 
Jessi Mainczyk leads the team and sits eighth in the GLVC averaging 4.7 digs per set. Meghan Conley adds 2.7 per set while Langer adds 2.6. Pekarek, Langer and Roembke are the only three Rangers to appear in all 45 sets this season.
 
About the Screaming Eagles: Southern Indiana (8-4, 4-3 GLVC) heads into Friday having split its last six matches. The Screaming Eagles breezed past Saint Joseph's College 3-0 last Friday before falling 3-0 to GLVC East Division co-leader University of Indianapolis 3-0 the following day. USI rebounded on Tuesday, knocking off Bellarmine 3-0 in Evansville.
 
Fawn Ryan leads the Eagles in kills, averaging 3.3 per set while Luaren DeShaney chips in 2.9. Quin Shoultz averages 9.5 assists per set with Jessica Lee posting a team-best 4.3 digs per set.
 
About the Knights: Bellarmine (5-6, 2-5 GLVC) heads into Friday's match against Lewis having dropped four of its last five. The Knights' lone victory during that stretch was a 3-0 victory over Saint Joseph's on Sept. 27. BU's woes began on Sept. 20, stumbling 3-0 to Missouri University S&T before falling 3-1 to Drury University the next day. The Knights were swept 3-0 by UIndy on Sept. 26 and again on Wednesday against USI.
 
Emily McDaniel powers the Bellarmine offense, averaging 3.7 kills per set while Ashley Jefferson adds 2.4. Allie Muha has a team-high 10.3 assists per set while on defense, Jaclyn Ohlmann paces the Knights with 6.0 digs per set.
 
Looking Ahead: UW-Parkside opens a three-match homestand next week beginning on Tuesday. The Rangers welcome Olivet Nazarene University to DeSimone Gymnasium on Tuesday in a non-league tilt before facing the University of Indianapolis and Saint Joseph's College on Friday and Saturday.
 
The Rangers return home next week, beginning on Tuesday with a non-conference showdown against NAIA Olivet Nazarene University.
 
GLVC Preseason Prognostications: UW-Parkside was picked to finish sixth in the East Division in the 2014 GLVC Coaches' Preseason Poll, released on Aug. 26 by the league office. The Rangers collected 58 points in the rankings and was four points shy of fifth place McKendree University. Defending champion University of Indianapolis was picked to win the East Division followed by Lewis University, University of Southern Indiana and Bellarmine University. In the West, Truman State University claimed the top spot followed by Rockhurst University, University of Missouri-Saint Louis and Missouri University S&T.
 
Road Warriors: UW-Parkside's opening seven matches are all on the road along with 12 of the first 14. The schedule balances out towards the end of the season with the final five regular season matches all at home inside DeSimone Gymnasium.
 
DeSimone Advantage: Over the past four seasons, UW-Parkside has compiled a record of 34-13 in home matches at DeSimone Gymnasium. The Rangers were 9-5 at home last season with two of the five losses coming at the hands of nationally-ranked foes.

Parkside's Paciero: Head Coach Christine Paciero begins her fourth season at the helm at UW-Parkside, owning a career mark of 123-83 and a 60-45 record with the Rangers. Paciero compiled a 63-38 record in three seasons at Dominican University (2008-2010) before taking over the reins at Parkside. She notched her 100th career win in the 2013 season opener, downing Anderson University on Sept. 6.
 
All-Academic: The UW-Parkside volleyball squad earned both the Team Academic All-GLVC Award and the AVCA Team Academic Award for the first time in program history during the 2013-2014 academic year. The Rangers boasted a team grade point average of 3.38.