Parkside 3, Cal Poly Humboldt 1 (25-21, 25-20, 18-25, 25-18)
Parkside 3, Fort Lewis 2 (25-12, 22-25, 16-25, 25-21, 16-14)
The Parkside volleyball team opened up their season with a pair of matches at the Mustangs Green Chile Classic in Silver City, New Mexico. The Rangers opened up strong, making quick work of their first opponent, the Cal Poly Humboldt Lumberjacks. They went on to face the Fort Lewis Skyhawks, who looked to be headed for the win until the Rangers came fighting back to win their second straight match in dramatic fashion.

GAME 1 RECAP
The Rangers jumped out to an early 5-0 lead in the first set. Their lead would grow as big as seven points before the Lumberjacks found a way to rally to make it a 16-15 game. The Rangers continued to battle and inch towards the clinching 25^th point, as a kill from Jazmine Neal and an ace from Maddy Dokken led the Rangers to a win in the first set.
 
The second set was much more back and forth, with the largest point differential being a five-point lead when an ace from Reese Rossnagel gave the Rangers a 24-19 lead. The Rangers would go on to take the second set 25-20.
 
The Lumberjacks did not go down without a fight in Set 3, despite trailing 11-4 early, Cal Poly Humboldt rode a 21-7 rally to win the set and force Set 4.
 
Despite seemingly losing momentum in the third set, the Rangers bounced back and rode a five-point rally to jump out to a 13-6 lead. The Rangers used that rally to slowly distance themselves from the Lumberjacks and come away with the win.
 
GAME 2 RECAP
The Rangers came out hot in the first set of their second match, jumping out to a 10-0 lead to start the match. The Rangers continued to go on big runs throughout the set and came away with the 13-point victory.
 
The Skyhawks woke up in the second set, utilizing a six-point rally to jump ahead 11-5. The Rangers battled back and were within one point near the end of the set, but the early deficit proved to be too big of a hole to climb out of as the Skyhawks won the set 25-22.
 
The Rangers jumped out to an early 5-1 lead in Set 3, but a pair of four-point rallies and a pair of five-point rallies allowed Fort Lewis to win the set and take a 2-1 lead in the match.
 
Set 4 proved to be a very interesting set for the Rangers. For the first time in this early regular season, the team found themselves having to battle in a situation where they needed to force a fifth set to win. And battle they did. The Skyhawks jumped out to a 13-8 lead but a five-point rally, which featured two kills from Lexi Packard, gave the Rangers back the lead and propelled them to a 25-21 victory.
 
The fifth set was about as intense as it gets. Fort Lewis got out of the gates fast with a 5-3 lead. The Rangers battled back with a five-point rally, which included a block and a kill for Rossnagel and a kill for Lindsay Krznarich, and led the Skyhawks 8-5. The Skyhawks then rallied for three points to even the score at 8-8. The teams then went back and forth, trading points until it was tied at 14-14. After a timeout for Parkside, Krznarich blocked an attack from Fort Lewis' Joviana Romero to give the Rangers a 15-14 lead. The next point would seal the deal as a beautifully placed pass from Dokken found the powerful arm of Neal to put the match away and send the Rangers home happy at the end of day one in New Mexico.
 
HEAR FROM COACH BAREA
"We are so proud of the team today and the fight they showed. Coming into a new place and playing like we did was huge!
 
The bounce back vs. Humboldt after dropping Set 3 was the first glimpse of resiliency we saw by taking control and finishing in Set 4. Marissa [Lootens] had a great match and really stepped up when we needed her.
 
In the match vs. Fort Lewis, we saw even more resiliency and heart after being down 14-18 in Set 4 and being able to come back and win in five sets. Our blocking was huge and Lexi was great offensively. Reese had an awesome day both terminating and ball control in both matches, especially when the pressure was on.
 
We have another great opportunity to get two more wins tomorrow if we fight and execute!"
 
NOTEWORTHY STATS
The Rangers are off to their best start in years, improving to 2-0 for the first time since 2015. Rossnagel was the leading force in the scoring effort, being credited with 33.5 points between both games and earning 26 kills. Karlee Lois had a strong first day with the Rangers, tallying 47 assists. Dokken and Elle Truckenbrod each earned six service aces in their regular season debuts. Truckenbrod also helped lead the team defensively with 20 digs. Neal was dominant at the net, leading the team with 9.0 blocks.
 
WHAT'S UP NEXT
The Rangers will finish off their first tournament of the season tomorrow as they take on Holy Names at 1 p.m. CST and Cal State East Bay at 5 p.m. CST. The Rangers home opener is scheduled for Sept. 2, as Parkside hosts the Hampton Inn Invitational. For more information, visit parksiderangers.com.