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

SOMERS, Wis. (Oct. 1, 2015)-- The University of Wisconsin-Parkside volleyball squad prepares for its longest stay inside DeSimone Gymnasium of the season, opening up a five-match homestand over the weekend to begin Great Lakes Valley Conference East Division play.
 
The Rangers kickoff the homestand on Friday night, welcoming the University of Indianapolis to DeSimone Gymnasium with first serve set for 7 p.m. The following day Saint Joseph's College comes to Somers with action getting underway at 3 p.m. before hosting travel partner and 23rd-ranked Lewis University on Tuesday night at 7 p.m. Live stats and video for all three matches will be available on parksiderangers.com.
 
About the Rangers: UW-Parkside (8-5, 2-2 GLVC) returns home to DeSimone Gymnasium having won two of its last three regular season games. The Rangers recent run began with a 3-0 (25-17, 25-21, 25-17) victory over previously undefeated Michigan Tech University in a non-conference clash on Sept. 22. Parkside collected five service aces in the opening set en route to the three-set sweep.
 
Three days later in Saint Louis, the Rangers were on the other end of a 3-0 contest, falling 25-18, 25-20, 25-14, to host University of Missouri-Saint Louis. The squad rebounded less than 24 hours later with Jackie Langer racking up a season-high 24 kills in a 3-0 (25-23, 26-24, 25-21) win over Maryville University on Saturday.
 
The Rangers took a break from regular season play on Wednesday night, earning a 3-1 (25-20, 25-19, 20-25, 25-22) exhibition win over NAIA foe University of Saint Francis.
 
Rebecca Roembke leads the team and the GLVC in kills per set, averaging 3.8, including three matches of at least 20 kills while Langer ranks ninth in the conference in the same category, averaging 3.2 kills/set. Lauren Hickson checks in fifth in the league in assists, offering 9.5 per set while defensively Lexi Turek has a team-best 30 blocks while Meghan Conley averages 4.1 digs per set.
 
About the Greyhounds: Perennial league power Indianapolis (4-9, 2-2 GLVC) is having an uncharacteristically down year for a program that has qualified for the NCAA Tournament every season since 2007.The Hounds have dropped their last two matches and have dropped seven of their last nine. UIndy's lone victories during that stretch were 3-0 victories at the expense of Maryville and UMSL.
 
The Greyhounds opened a six-match road swing last weekend, beginning the trip with a 3-0 setback to Drury University before falling 3-1 to Missouri University S&T on Saturday.
 
Becca Lira is the Hounds top attacker, averaging 3.5 kills per set with Sarah Skinner chipping in 2.3 per set. Natalie Wichern paces the team in both assists (10.3 per set) and aces (12) while Bri Heffernan offers up a team-leading 4.2 digs per set.
 
About the Pumas: Saint Joseph's (4-6, 0-4 GLVC) heads to Lewis University on Friday looking to score its first victory of the conference slate, having been swept 3-0 in their first four GLVC encounters.
 
SJC opened GLVC action at home inside the Scharf Fieldhouse on Sept. 18, succumbing to UMSL in straight sets before falling to Maryville the following day. The Puma's misery continued last weekend with a pair of 3-0 defeats on the road against Missouri S&T and Drury.
 
Bridget Krasowski is SJC's leader in kills, contributing 2.5 per set while Lauren Robertson tacks on 2.1 per set. Megan Sturm leads the team in assists with 4.4 per set with Katie Dugan leading the way on the defensive side with 4.2 digs per set.
 
About the Flyers: 23rd-ranked Lewis (12-1, 4-0 GLVC) heads into the weekend undefeated in league play and riding an 11-match win streak. The Flyers lone setback of the 2015 campaign came on the opening day of the season, falling 3-1 to host California State University-Los Angeles.
 
Since then Lewis has been unstoppable, collecting six three-set sweeps over the last 11 matches. Missouri S&T provided the stiffest test for the Flyers in league play, forcing a decisive fifth set on Sept. 19 but host Lewis won the final set 15-12 to escape with the 3-2 win.
 
Lewis ranks second in the GLVC in kills, averaging 13.7 per set with Elizabeth Hyland pacing the team averaging 3.0 kills/set. McKenna Pierson and Abby Becker average 7.2 and 4.7 assists per set, respectively while Alexis Davito has 19 aces to her name. Defensively, Aly Schneider has 57 blocks on the year and Nicole Yuede averages 5.2 digs per set.
 
Kid's Clinic 2015: Immediately following Saturday's match against Saint Joseph's the Rangers will be hosting a free kid's clinic for children under the age of 14. The event will get underway 15 minutes after the conclusion of the match and will last approximately 45 minutes. The clinic will include instruction from the Ranger coaching staff and current student-athletes. All participants must sign a liability waiver before participating.
 
Dig Pink: Tuesday's clash against Lewis is the team's annual dig pink game in support of breast cancer education, awareness, and research. Donations made during the game will be sent to the Side-Out Foundation. The Side-Out Foundation was founded in 2004 as a way for volleyball coaches and players to unite nationwide in the common goal of supporting those afflicted with breast cancer, contributing to research, medical services, and patient support.
 
GLVC Prognostications: The GLVC released its annual coaches' poll on August 26 with UW-Parkside picked to finish fifth in the East Division. The Rangers racked up 64 points in the poll, finishing 14 points shy of fourth place University of Southern Indiana and 14 points clear of sixth place Bellarmine University. Defending East Champion University of Indianapolis secured the top spot, collecting 110 points and seven first place votes. Lewis University nabbed the No. 2 spot with 109 points and five first place nods followed by McKendree University in third with 97 points and four first place votes. Southern Indiana was fourth (78 points), followed by Parkside (64), Bellarmine (50), Saint Joseph's College (32) and University of Illinois Springfield (28).
 
In the West Division, Rockhurst University landed the preseason No. 1 position, raking in 115 points and 10 first place votes. Defending division and tournament champion Truman State University was slotted at No. 2 with 110 points and the remaining six first place endorsements. Missouri University S&T was third with 89 points while the University of Missouri-Saint Louis secured fourth with 77 points. Drury University was fifth with 60 points, followed by Quincy University in sixth (55 points), Maryville University in seventh (38 points), and William Jewell College in eighth (25 points).
 
Parkside's Paciero: Head Coach Christine Paciero begins her fifth season at the helm at UW-Parkside, owning a career mark of 140-95 and a 77-57 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 second straight year this offseason, boasting an impressive 3.44 team grade point average. Additionally returning student-athletes Meghan Conley, Jeni Heller, Lauren Hickson, Rebecca Kuske, Jackie Langer, Rebecca Roembke, and Lexi Turek were all honored as Academic All-GLVC honorees.
 
Three and counting: UW-Parkside posted a winning record for the third consecutive season in 2014, marking the first time since 1990 the program has strung together back-to-back-to-back winning campaigns. The Rangers streak began in 2012, posting a 21-10 record in Head Coach Christine Paciero's second year at the helm. Parkside followed it up with an 18-13 record in 2013 and a 15-13 mark last season. Under the direction of Terry Paulson the Rangers accumulated six consecutive winning seasons from 1985 to 1990, including a program-best 34-win season in 1986.