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

SOMERS, Wis. (Oct. 22, 2015)-- Winners of five straight matches, the red-hot University of Wisconsin-Parkside volleyball team resumes Great Lakes Valley Conference play this weekend, traveling to the Land of Lincoln to face a pair of East Division rivals.
 
The Rangers open the trip on Friday night, facing McKendree University at 7 p.m. in Lebanon, Illinois. UW-Parkside closes out the road swing on Saturday with a 3p.m. clash against the University of Illinois Springfield. Live stats and video will be provided for both matches.
 
About the Rangers: UW-Parkside (15-6, 6-3 GLVC) enters the weekend having won eight of its last nine matches, including a trio of three set sweeps last weekend at the 2015 Midwest Region Crossover Tournament in Aurora, Illinois.
 
The Rangers were nearly flawless at the Crossover, steamrolling the University of Findlay 3-0 (25-23, 25-18, 25-22) and Tiffin University 3-0 (25-12, 25-19, 25-14) to open the tournament on Oct. 16 before closing the event with a 3-0 (25-11, 25-23, 25-21) victory over Michigan Tech University.
 
Rebecca Roembke and Jackie Langer each average 4.0 kills per set during the tournament while Lauren Hickson tallied 101 assists over the three matches. For her efforts Roembke was named to the All-Tournament Team and on Monday secured GLVC Offensive Player of the Week accolades for the first time in her career.
 
UW-Parkside's lone blemish over the last nine matches was a 3-2 (19-25, 22-25, 25-21, 25-21, 16-14) nailbiter to then 21st-ranked Lewis University on Oct. 6, a contest the Rangers owned a 2-0 lead heading into the third set. Parkside rebounded from the loss with a 3-1 (25-12, 25-18, 21-25, 25-22) win over Bellarmine University on Oct. 9 and a 3-2 (25-15, 18-25, 17-25, 25-18, 15-7) decision over University of Southern Indiana on Oct. 10 to cap off a five-match homestand at DeSimone Gymnasium.
 
Roembke and Langer power the Ranger attack, ranking first and second in the GLVC in kills. Roembke averages a league-best 3.8 kills per set while Langer chips in 3.5 per set. Lauren Hickson ranks third in the league in assists, racking up 10.2 assists per set while Jessi Mainczyk is 12th in the GLVC in service aces with 25. Defensively, Meghan Conley sits 11th in the GLVC, averaging 4.4 digs per set.
 
As a team, UW-Parkside sits third in the GLVC in both hitting percentage (.230) and assists (12.44/set) while checking in fourth in the conference in kills (13.43/set).
 
About the Bearcats: Despite sitting in second place in the GLVC East Division standings, McKendree (13-8, 7-2 GLVC) has struggled as of late, dropping three of its last four matches. The Bearcat blues began on Oct. 10, capping off a road swing with a 3-1 setback to the University of Indianapolis. McKendree opened the Midwest Crossover Tournament with a 3-1 setback to Ferris State University on Oct. 16 before capping off the day with a 3-1 win over Saginaw Valley State University. McKendree was unable to continue the momentum from the Friday afternoon win, suffering a 3-2 setback to Ashland University to cap off the event.
 
Arela Williams is the Bearcats offensive leader, averaging 3.3 kills per set with Allison Schneider chipping in 2.7 per set. Aubry Dickmann and Morgan Melchert average 6.4 and 5.2 assists per set, respectively, while on the defensive end, Williams adds 3.4 digs per set.
 
About the Prairie Stars: Illinois Springfield (5-17, 2-7 GLVC) heads into the weekend having dropped seven of its last eight matches. The Prairie Stars lone win during their recent slump was a 3-0 sweep at the expense of Malone University on Oct. 16 to open the Midwest Crossover Tournament. UIS capped off the afternoon with a 3-2 heartbreaker against Walsh University before getting swept 3-0 by Northwood University on Saturday.
 
UIS has struggled on the road, owning an 0-7 record in true road games while going 3-14 away from The Recreation and Athletic Center in Springfield, Illinois.
 
Ashley Beaton leads the Prairie Stars in kills per set, averaging 2.6 while Nikki Madoch averages 2.3. Tiffany Wentworth serves as the primary setter, accumulating 5.6 assists per set while Kayla Katarzynski sports a team-leading 3.7 digs per set.
 
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 147-97 and a 84-59 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.
 
1,000-Watch: Senior Meghan Conley sits with 962 career digs, just 38 shy of becoming the seventh Ranger to surpass the 1,000-digs plateau. The last Ranger to do so was Sarah Mlachnik (1,113 career digs) during the 2013 season.
 
Ms. 2,000: Junior setter Lauren Hickson has 1,917 career assists, fourth-best in school history and just 83 shy of 2,000 for her career. Kari Good (5,133), Natalie Wildes (3,038) and Ashley Vycital (2,672) are the only other players to surpass the 2,000-assist plateau at Parkside.
 
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.