FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Mark Albanese, Assistant Athletic Director for Sports Media RelationsBox ScoreSOMERS, Wis. (Nov. 7, 2014)-- The University of Wisconsin-Parkside volleyball squad's postseason hopes took a dent on Friday night, dropping the final two sets in a 3-1 (25-20, 22-25, 25-16, 25-22) setback to Great Lakes Valley Conference East Division rival McKendree University inside DeSimone Gymnasium.
Thanks to a University of Southern Indiana loss to the University of Indianapolis on Friday, the Rangers (14-13, 7-10 GLVC) remain in contention for the eighth and final spot in the GLVC Tournament, however tonight's loss means the Rangers do not control their own destiny. UW-Parkside needs a win on Saturday when they face University of Illinois Springfield at 3 p.m. for Senior Day in addition to losses by Southern Indiana and Drury University to snag the league's final bid to the postseason.
UW-Parkside owned a 6-3 advantage in the opening set but the Bearcats (18-11, 11-6 GLVC) quickly tied the score with two kills and a service ace. With the score tied 9-9, McKendree scored four straight and never trailed the rest of the way, earning the 25-20 win in set one.
The Rangers surged to a 7-3 lead in set two and led until the Bearcats used a 5-1 run to secure a 22-21 advantage. UW-Parkside responded with back-to-back blocks, part of a 4-0 run to close the set 25-22 in favor of the hosts. Parkside carried its momentum over to the third set, scring six of the first seven points but McKendree quickly tied the game at 7-7. The Bearcats took the lead for good at 10-9 and never looked back en route to the 25-16 set victory. The visitors led wire-to-wire in set four, emerging with the 3-1 match win.
Lisa Gregerson paced the Rangers with 11 kills in her penultimate home match while
Jackie Langer had a double-double with 10 kills and 16 digs. Meghan Pekarek accrued 32 assists,
Lauren Hickson added 13 while defensively,
Meghan Conley had a match-high 19 digs.
Lexi Turek had five of the Rangers' seven blocks while Langer netted three aces.
Â