FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

SOMERS, Wis. (Oct. 22, 2016)-- The Wisconsin-Parkside volleyball squad stopped McKendree, who is the second place team in the Great Lakes Valley Conference East Division, in five sets, 3-2 (26-24, 21-25, 25-21, 23-25, 15-13) at home inside the DeSimone Gymnasium.
 
In the opening set, the Rangers (11-13, 7-4 GLVC) started off the afternoon with an early lead, including two points via blocks from the Parkside pair of Leah Fenske and Elizabeth Mavis. The Bearcats (14-9, 9-2 GLVC) battled back to tie the set at 17 and again at 24, but Lexi Turek had the kill to take the lead and the serve that led to the 26-24 first set win.
 
McKendree started the second set with the serve and the lead. The Rangers kept things close early after a kill from Rebecca Roembke brought the team within one, trailing 8-7. The Bearcats then went on a 7-1 run and cruised to a 24-16 lead. The Green and White would not back down as a Rebecca Roembke kill got the sideout, and Roembke went on to serve five straight before the Rangers fell 25-21..
 
Using the momentum from the end of the second set, Wisconsin-Parkside opened the third set with a block party, scoring the first three points on a blocks. Mavis and Roembke had the first point block, and Roembke and Fenske each had solo blocks in the next two rallies. Midway through the set, McKendree tied things up at 15-15, but then Parkside went on an 8-2 run and held off the Bearcats for the 25-21 third set victory.
 
The Bearcats controlled most of the fourth set, and led late in the set 23-18. The Rangers fought back with a 5-1 run aided by three kills from Fenske, but it was not enough as UW-Parkside fell 25-23 in the fourth.
 
Fenske and the Rangers came out for a fast start in the fifth set with a 4-1 lead, which included two kills from Fenske. The momentum swung back-and-forth during the final set, and the set wound up tied at 13 apiece. Fenske would get the lead for Parkside with a drive off of a McKendree block attempt that deflected and went out-of-bounds. The match would end the same way it began with a Ranger block, this time from Lexi Turek and Fenske.
 
Lauren Hickson recorded her second straight match with over 50 assists as she collected 51 in the win over McKendree. Hickson and Roembke both finished the match with double-doubles. Hickson added 19 digs to her 51 assists, and Roembke had 18 kills and 13 digs. Fenske led the offense with 21 kills as the Bearcats did not seem to have an answer for Ranger attacks that were just over the top of their blocks. Defensively, Annie Leo led with 23 digs and Mavis led with 7 blocks.
 
The Rangers hit the road next week for a pair of GLVC matchups in Missouri. First up will be the West Division leading Rockhurst on Friday (Oct. 28) at 7 p.m.