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Official Tournament Bracket

SOMERS, Wis. (Nov. 18, 2015)-- It's on to the postseason for the University of Wisconsin-Parkside volleyball team as the Rangers prepare for the 2015 Great Lakes Valley Conference Tournament beginning this Friday at the EastSide Centre in East Peoria, Illinois.
 
The Rangers secured the fourth seed in the East Division for the eight-team tournament and will face West Division No. 1 seed Rockhurst University on Friday at 7:30 p.m. in the final quarterfinal of the day. The winner of Friday's clash faces the winner of Lewis University/Drury University on Saturday at 5:30 p.m. with the championship match slated for 12 p.m. on Sunday. All seven matches of the 2015 GLVC Tournament will be streamed live on the GLVC Sports Network.
 
About the Rangers: Despite dropping its last three matches, UW-Parkside's (19-11, 10-8 GLVC) overall resume was still impressive enough to snag one of the two wild card spots for the eight team tournament, returning to the postseason for the third time under the tenure of Head Coach Christine Paciero and the first time since 2012.
 
The Rangers won four of five games heading into last week, earning the No. 10 position in the second installment of the NCAA Division II Midwest Region rankings before dropping contests to 23rd-ranked Lewis 3-1 (26-24, 25-23, 23-25, 26-24), Saint Joseph's College 3-0 (25-17, 25-19, 25-17) and University of Indianapolis 3-0 (25-20, 25-20, 25-20).
 
Rebecca Roembke continues to lead the GLVC in kills, averaging 3.7 per set with Jackie Langer sitting fifth in the league averaging 3.4 kills per set. Roembke additionally paces the 16-team circuit in points with 4.1 per set while Langer checks in at No. 7 (3.8/set). Lauren Hickson sits second in the GLVC in assists, distributing 10.3 per set while Meghan Conley is 10th in the conference in digs at 4.6 per set.
 
As a team, UW-Parkside ranks fifth in the GLVC in hitting percentage (.214), assists (12.34/set), and kills (13.3/set).
 
About the Hawks: Fifth-ranked Rockhurst (30-2, 18-0 GLVC) enters the GLVC Tournament riding a 10-match unbeaten streak after closing the GLVC season a perfect 18-0. The last setback for the Hawks was on Oct. 17, stumbling 3-0 to Ferris State University to finish off the Midwest Region Crossover Tournament in Aurora, Illinois. Of the 10 wins since then, eight have been three-set sweeps, including a 3-0 (25-22, 25-18, 25-20) win over the host Rangers on Oct. 31 inside DeSimone Gymnasium.
 
RU leads the GLVC in several statistical categories including hitting percentage (.280), opponent hitting percentage (.120), assists (13.02/set), and blocks (2.70/set) while sitting No. 2 in kills (13.88/set).
 
Individually, Preecy Seever leads the league in hitting percentage, boasting a .384 mark while Katie Loescher is third with a .352 attack percentage. Morgan Rietzke is fifth in kills, collecting 3.3 per set while Whitney Kostal paces the conference in assists with 11.4 per set. Seever paces the conference in blocks with 1.5 per set while Anne Hellwege is eighth in digs with 4.8 per set.
 
Ticket Info: All-Tournament passes, which are good for all seven matches, will be $25. A single-session ticket will be $10 for adults and $11 for children (7-12), seniors (65+), and students with a College ID. Children ages 6 and under are free.
 
Rest of the Field: The GLVC Tournament officially gets underway at noon on Friday with West Division No. 2 seed Missouri University S&T facing East Division No. 3 seed UIndy. East No. 1 McKendree University takes on West No. 4 University of Southern Indiana at 2:30 p.m. with the winners of those two matches meeting in the semifinals on Saturday at 3 p.m.
 
East No. 2 Lewis University and West No. 3 Drury University tangle at 5 p.m. on Friday with the opening day finishing off at 7:30 p.m. with the Ranger-Hawk clash. Winners of the two late matches meet on Saturday at 5:30 p.m.
 
Tournament Rewind: UW-Parkside makes its 11th overall appearance at the GLVC Tournament and its first appearance since the 2012 season. The Green and White have made previous postseason appearances in 1995-1997, 1999-2003, and 2011-2012.  In 2012, the Rangers earned the final wild card spot as the No. 4 seed in the West, falling 3-0 to UIndy in the GLVC Quarterfinals.
 
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.
 
Parkside's Paciero: Head Coach Christine Paciero begins her fifth season at the helm at UW-Parkside, owning a career mark of 151-102 and an 88-64 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 1,131 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 2,273 career assists.
 
Single Season Record Watch: Rebecca Roembke, Lauren Hickson, and Meghan Conley are all creeping up the single season record book in their respective stat categories. Roembke has 430 kills on the season, good for No. 4 on the UW-Parkside single season list. Jenni Bradley currently owns the record of 473 set during the 2003 season. Hickson stands with 1,182 assists in 2015, putting her fifth on the single season list. Kari Good owns the top three spots for single season assists, highlighted by 1,551 assists during the 1997 campaign. Last but not least, Conley has 527 digs on the year, good for fourth best in program history. Former teammate Sarah Mlachnik owns the single-season record with 589 during the 2013 season.
 
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.