#7 Minnesota-Duluth 3, Parkside 1 (22-25, 25-17, 25-14, 25-18)
Minnesota State 2, Parkside 3 (25-23, 25-22, 21-25, 26-28, 12-15)
The Parkside volleyball team played a double header at the Keweenaw Classic in Houghton, Mich., on Friday. The Rangers fell at the hands of No. 7 Minnesota-Duluth 3-1, but finished off the day by bouncing back and defeating Minnesota State in five sets.
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HOW IT HAPPENED
ÂÂIn the first match, the Rangers won the first set on the back of a 5-0 run early and a 4-0 run late in the set. Despite the Rangers jumping out to a 3-0 lead to start the second set, the Bulldogs battled back and took the second set. In the third set, the Rangers got out to an early 5-2 lead, but the Bulldogs won the set by going on a 19-7 run to take the lead in the match. The Bulldogs then used the momentum of set 3 to close out the game in the fourth set.
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In the second match, the Rangers fought hard with Minnesota State, with the Mavericks prevailing on top 25-23. The Mavericks jumped out to an early 13-6 lead, but the Rangers were able to battle back and even the set at 14-14, before unfortunately dropping the set to Minnesota State. Early in the third set, it appeared to be all Parkside, as they jumped out to an 10-3 lead. The Mavericks came back and took the lead briefly at 19-18 before Parkside surged to close out the third set 25-21. The fourth set was a wild one, with both teams surging and having momentum come and go throughout the set. The back forth set ended 28-26 in favor of the Rangers. The Rangers then closed out the fifth and final set with a comeback 15-12 win to seal their first match win of the year.
STATWORTHY
Between the two matches, sophomore
Jessica Pappas led the Rangers with 33 kills while senior Rachael Hedman had 24 and senior Jasmine Neal had 18. Redshirt-senior
Ellie Adams led with 45 assists and junior
Kaylee Kuecker had a team-high 29 digs.
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HEAR FROM COACH BAREA
"I am so proud of the team today not only for the win, but more importantly, the way they bounced back and the grit that they showed. After two tough matches against ranked opponents, they made adjustments as a team which allowed us to get a 5 set win against a very good Minnesota State team. Jess Pappas was huge in stepping up not only offensively, but defensively and from the service line."
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WHAT'S NEXT
Parkside will finish out the weekend tournament with an 11 a.m. matchup against No. 2 Concordia-St. Paul on Saturday.
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