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

Box Score

LEBANON, Ill. (Oct. 23, 2015)-- An inability to capitalize on a two-set lead proved costly for the University of Wisconsin-Parkside volleyball team on Friday night, having its five match win streak come to a halt as Great Lakes Valley Conference East Division nemesis McKendree University rallied to the 3-2 (25-18, 23-25, 20-25, 25-21, 15-13) inside the Statham Center.
 
The Rangers (15-7, 6-4 GLVC) collected four of the opening five points in the opening set but the host Bearcats (14-8, 8-2 GLVC) surged back, taking the lead at 8-7 before building an 18-12 buffer. McKendree led by at least five the rest of the set, gliding to the 25-18 victory.
 
UW-Parkside yielded three of the first four points of set two before catching fire with a 6-0 run to establish a 7-3 lead. The Green and White led the rest of the way with a Rebecca Roembke kill giving the visitors the 25-23 set win to level the match.   
 
Parkside claimed set three 25-20, pulling away midway through the set, turning a tenuous 12-11 lead into a comfortable 19-12 buffer. McKendree extended the match with a 25-21 victory in set four, slowly earning separation after the set was tied 8-8.
 
Back-to-back-back kills gave UW-Parkside the 6-3 lead in the final set but the scrappy Bearcats answered, tying the score at 8-8. McKendree made another surge later in the set, ripping off four straight points to turn a 10-10 deadlock into match point. Back-to-back kills from Jackie Langer and a McKendree setting error closed the gap to just a point but a McKendree block the next rally gave the hosts the 15-13 victory to secure the match.
 
Roembke and Langer both finished with a double-double. Roembke led the Rangers with 18 kills while adding 17 digs while Langer tallied 16 kills and 14 digs. Lexi Turek had 14 kills while Lauren Hickson inched closer to 2,000 career assists with a match-high 53. The junior setter is now just 30 assists shy of becoming the fourth Ranger to eclipse the milestone. Meghan Conley led the squad with 22 digs with Jessi Mainczyk adding 17.
 
Parkside returns to the court tomorrow afternoon, facing the University of Illinois Springfield at 3 p.m.