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

SOMERS, Wis. (Oct. 29, 2015)-- The University of Wisconsin-Parkside volleyball team gears up for its final homestand of the season this weekend, welcoming Kansas City-based Great Lakes Valley Conference rivals William Jewell College and eighth-ranked Rockhurst University to DeSimone Gymnasium.
 
The Rangers host William Jewell on Friday at 7 p.m. with UW-Parkside and Rockhurst battling at 3 p.m. on Saturday. On Friday, the Power Rangers student section will be hosting a pizza party in the hospitality area of the Sports & Activity Center prior to the game while Saturday is Senior Day. Live stats and video of both matches will be available for those unavailable to attend.
 
About the Rangers: UW-Parkside (16-7, 7-4 GLVC) continues to run roughshod through opponents, having won 10 of its last 12 matches. The Rangers split a pair of matches last weekend in Illinois, having a five-match win streak snapped in a 3-2 (25-18, 23-25, 20-25, 25-23, 15-13) setback to McKendree University before cruising past the University of Illinois Springfield by a 3-1 (21-25, 25-14, 25-17, 25-23) tally.
 
Against McKendree, the Rangers won two of the first three sets but were unable to close it out over the final two sets as the Bearcats rallied to take the match. Visiting UW-Parkside owned a 6-3 lead in the decisive fifth set but McKendree claimed 12 of the final 19 points to net the 15-13 set victory to seal the contest.
 
Rebecca Roembke and Jackie Langer each finished with a double-double on the night. Roembke tallied 18 kills and 17 digs with Langer adding 16 kills and 14 digs.
 
Host Illinois Springfield won the opening set the following day but it was all Rangers after that, winning the next three sets to secure the win. The match turned out to be a notable one for both Lauren Hickson and Meghan Conley, both surpassing milestones in the four-set victory. Hickson collected 42 assists to become the fourth Ranger in eclipse 2,000 career assists while Conley had a match-high 18 digs, becoming the seventh Parkside player to notch at least 1,000 career digs.
 
Rebecca Roembke continues to lead the GLVC in kills, averaging 3.8 per set while Jackie Langer sits fourth in the league with 3.4 per set. Hickson slots third in the conference in assists, averaging 10.2 per set while Jessi Mainczyk (27 aces) and Meghan Conley (4.4 digs/set) lurk just outside the top 10 in the league, both ranking 11th in their respective stat categories.
 
As a team, UW-Parkside ranks third in the GLVC in hitting percentage (.227) and sits fourth in both kills (13.4/set) and assists (12.4/set).
 
About the Cardinals: William Jewell (7-17, 1-10 GLVC) heads to Wisconsin having dropped three of its last four games. WJC's lone win during that stretch was a 3-1 victory over Malone University to close out the Midwest Crossover Tournament on Oct. 17. The Cardinals opened up a four-match GLVC road swing last weekend in Saint Louis, falling in three sets to both the University of Missouri-Saint Louis and Maryville University.
 
Jewell's lone victory of the conference slate came on Oct. 10 at the expense of Drury University, seizing the opening two sets en route to a 3-1 win inside the Mabee Center in Liberty, Missouri.
 
Raechel Meisinger leads the WJC offensive attack, averaging 3.2 kills per set. Stefanie Richterkessing distributes 7.5 assists per set while Olivia Tolberd owns a team-leading 4.5 digs per set.
 
About the Hawks: Nationally-ranked Rockhurst (23-2, 11-0 GLVC) heads into the weekend riding a three-match win streak while having won 22 of its last 23 matches. The Hawks have yet to taste defeat in league play, owning a perfect 11-0 mark against GLVC opponents, including a pair of 3-0 road sweeps against Maryville and Missouri-saint Louis last weekend.
 
Rockhurst's lone loss in the last 23 matches was a 3-0 setback to Ferris State University on Oct. 17 to cap off the Midwest Crossover Tournament.
 
As a team, RU leads the GLVC in hitting percentage (.290), opponent hitting percentage (.119), kills (13.9/set), and assists (13.1/set). Individually, Preecy Seever (.399) and Katie Loescher (.368) rank 1-2 in the GLVC in hitting percentage while Seever additionally sits atop the league in blocks, averaging 1.7 per set. Whitney Kostel leads the conference in assists (11.4/set) while Anne Hellwege ranks fourth in digs (4.9/set).
 
Free Pizza: The Power Rangers, the new student section at UW-Parkside, is offering free pizza to those who sign up for the group prior to Friday's match at 6 p.m. in the reception area of the Sports & Activity Center located between the weight room and DeSimone Gymnasium. Students can sign up in person or online at parksiderangers.com/powerrangers.
 
Prospect Camp: UW-Parkside volleyball will be hosting its annual Prospect Camp on Dec. 20 for high school sophomores through seniors. The camp begins at 11 a.m. and runs through 4 p.m. and will feature instruction from Christine Paciero and her staff. The cost is $75 and includes lunch and a t-shirt. For more info or to sign-up, visit parksiderangers.com/camps.
 
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).
 
Senior Salute: On Saturday UW-Parkside will honor its three seniors: Meghan Conley, Jeni Heller, and Jessi Mainczyk. The trio will become the first senior class since 1990 to record four straight winning seasons and currently own a career record of 70-43. Conley has played in 108 matches and sits seventh all-time in digs (1,002), Heller has played in 81 matches and sits 10th all-time in blocks (173) while Mainczyk has played in 93 matches and sits ninth all-time in aces with 68. Conley plans on graduating with a degree in biological sciences while Heller and Mainzcyk plan on graduating with sport management degrees.
 
Parkside's Paciero: Head Coach Christine Paciero begins her fifth season at the helm at UW-Parkside, owning a career mark of 148-98 and a 85-60 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.
 
Ms. 1,000: Senior Meghan Conley eclipsed the 1,000 career digs milestone on Oct. 24 against the University of Illinois Springfield becoming the seventh Ranger to do so and the first since Sarah Mlachnik (1,113 career digs) in 2013. Conley currently sits with 1,002 career digs.
 
Ms. 2,000: Junior setter Lauren Hickson surpassed the 2,000-assists plateau on Oct. 24 against Illinois Springfield, joining Kari Good (5,133), Natalie Wildes (3,038) and Ashley Vycital (2,672) as the only Ranger players to surpass the milestone. Hickson currently has  2,012 career assists.
 
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.
 
Four and counting: UW-Parkside has guaranteed its fourth consecutive winning season in 2015, marking the first time since 1990 the program has strung together four-straight 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.