FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Mark Albanese, Assistant Athletic Director for Sports Media RelationsSaginaw Valley Box ScoreMissouri Western Box ScoreBIG RAPIDS, Mich. (Sept. 5, 2015)-- Just a day after going 2-0 at the Ferris State Invitational the University of Wisconsin-Parkside volleyball team had its fortunes reversed, falling 3-1 (25-15, 20-25, 25-23, 25-18) to Saginaw Valley State University and 3-0 (25-22, 25-8, 25-18) to Missouri Western State University to close out the season opening tournament on Saturday.
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Saginaw Valley State (3-0) never trailed in the opening set, cruising to the 25-15 victory before staking an early 8-1 advantage in the second set. The Rangers (2-2) battled back, utilizing an 8-1 scoring surge late in the set en route to the 25-20 win to level the match.
UW-Parkside enjoyed a 22-18 lead in the third set but the Cardinals collected six straight points and seven of the final eight points to claim the 25-23 win before wrapping up the match with a 25-18 decision in the fourth set.
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Jackie Langer led the Ranger offense with 11 kills while
Rebecca Roembke added 10 as both student-athletes earned a spot on the 12-player All-Tournament team.
Lauren Hickson had 31 assists while
Jeni Heller had seven blocks. Defensively,
Jessi Mainczyk paced the team with 11 digs.
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Against the Griffons (2-2), UW-Parkside held an early lead in the opening set and the contest was tied at 22-22 before Missouri Western scored the final three points to net the 25-22 set win. MWSU led wire-to-wire in set two, claiming the 25-8 victory before racing out to a 4-1 edge early in set three.
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Five consecutive points gave the Rangers the 12-10 lead but the Griffons battled back, reclaiming the lead for good at 17-16 before scoring the final six points to wrap up the match.
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Langer finished with nine kills to lead UW-Parkside while Hickson collecting 12 assists and Mainczyk finished with a team-best 10 digs.
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The setbacks came just a day removed from downing perennial NCAA Tournament qualifier Metropolitan State University of Denver 3-1 in the opener and defeating Mercyhurst University 3-2.
The Rangers return to the floor on Thursday night, taking on Concordia University (Oregon) in the opening game of the Western Oregon Volleyball Invitational.
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