SOMERS, Wis. -- Senior
Rebecca Roembke had 14 kills and 12 digs and fellow senior
Lauren Hickson had 47 assists and eight digs, but Indianapolis rallied to defeat Wisconsin-Parkside 20-25, 27-25, 25-20, 27-25 ending the Rangers postseason hopes in the regular season finale for both teams on Saturday in DeSimone Gymnasium.
Wisconsin-Parkside and Indianapolis entered the match with identical 9-8 conference records and the winner of the contest was ensured of earning the No. 3 seed in the East Division in the upcoming Great Lakes Valley Conference Tournament. The Greyhounds claimed that honor after bouncing back from an opening-set loss to win the next three sets.
Saturday also marked Senior Day for the Rangers as Roembke and Hickson played in their final matches in a Wisconsin-Parkside uniform. Roembke led the Rangers with 14 kills and also added two blocks and an assist, while Hickson led UWP with 47 assists and two service aces.
Wisconsin-Parkside, which finished the season with a 13-18 overall record and a 9-9 record in conference play, also received 12 kills and two blocks from
Lexi Turek and 11 kills, four digs and four blocks from
Katie Adams.
Kasey Davis added eight kills and tied for the team lead with 17 digs, while
Annie Leo recorded 17 digs for the Rangers.
Elizabeth Mavis led the Wisconsin-Parkside blocking effort as she posted a match-high seven blocks.
Indianapolis, which improved to 15-15 overall and 10-8 in conference play, was led by Shelby Ruffner who had 14 kills and Kacee Salyers who had 12 kills and 12 digs.
Wisconsin-Parkside roared out of the gate in the first set as the Rangers held an early 10-2 lead as Davis and Adams each had two kills.
The Rangers stretched the lead to 16-8 on a kill by Roembke, but the Greyhounds put together a pair of runs to eventually close the gap to 23-20. Following a Ranger timeout, Roembke ripped a kill and Mavis and Adams blocked an attack by Anna Fehribach to secure the 25-20 win in the opening set.
The second set was a closely contested affair as neither team held more than three-point lead. The Rangers broke a 14-14 deadlock with kills by Hickson and Roembke and an Indianapolis attack error to take an 18-15 lead.
The Rangers forged ahead 24-23 on a kill by Turek, but a Wisconsin-Parkside service error knotted the set at 24-24.
Indianapolis forged ahead 25-24 on a UW-Parkside attack error, but Turek responded with a kill to tie the set at 25-25. But the Greyhounds closed out the second set on a kill by Salyers and a Ranger attack error to even the match at 1-1.
Indianapolis took control of the third set as it broke a 6-6 tie with a 14-4 run that gave the Greyhounds a 20-10 lead. Wisconsin-Parkside would fight back though as the Rangers put together a 9-3 run to climb to within 23-19, but the Greyhounds clinched the set on a Parkside attack error.
Indianapolis jumped out to an 11-6 lead in the fourth set before the Rangers rallied. A kill by Mavis and two service aces by Hickson brought the Rangers to within 11-10.
The Greyhounds pushed the lead to 14-11, but kills by Mavis and Adams helped the Rangers cut the margin to 15-13.
Wisconsin-Parkside eventually took the lead 19-18 on consecutive kills by Turek, Mavis and Roembke. After the margin increased to 21-18 on a Greyhound attack error and a Roembke kill, Indianapolis scored three straight points to tie the set at 21-21.
The Rangers had a set point following a kill by Adams which put UWP in front 24-23, but the Greyhounds got a kill by Becca Lira to tie the set.
After the Greyhounds went in front 25-24, Turek ripped a kill down the line to tie the set at 25-25. But a Ranger service error and a kill by Lira clinched the set, and the match, for the Greyhounds.
