Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 Parkside 3, Minnesota Crookston 0 (25-20, 25-19, 25-23)
Parkside 3, McKendree 1 (25-17, 25-22, 24-26, 25-21)
The Parkside volleyball team competed in day two of the Hampton Inn Invitational in De Simone Arena on Saturday. The Rangers opened their day with a convincing win over the Minnesota Crookston Golden Eagles. They then bounced back in Game 2 and came away with an exciting win against the McKendree Bearcats.
GAME 1 RECAP
The Rangers jumped out to an early 6-3 lead in the first set, with Ava Irvin earning two kills and Elizabeth Truckenbrod tallying a pair of aces during the rally. The Eagles battled back and ran with the Rangers until the score was 20-20. A pair of aces for Lexi Packard and kills for Reese Rossnagel and Lindsay Krznarich led the Rangers to a 25-20 victory in Set 1.
 
The Golden Eagles jumped out to an early 5-1 lead to start the middle set of the match. The Rangers used a five-point rally to take the lead at 8-7. The Rangers then used a six-point rally, which featured three kills for Irvin, to jump out to a 18-12 lead. The Rangers defense carried them the rest of the way, forcing four Eagles errors in the final 14 points that were played.
 
The Eagles jumped out to an early 8-1 lead, but that was not large enough to keep the Rangers down. A kill for Rossnagel jumpstarted a six-point rally for the Rangers to make the score 14-12 in favor of the Eagles. As the set continued, the Rangers found themselves down 23-22. Another kill for Rossnagel tied the game at 23-23. Karlee Lois earned a kill on a no-look set to give the Rangers the lead, and Krznarich and Jazmine Neal put the match away with a block.
 
GAME 2 RECAP
The Rangers jumped out to a 17-10 lead in the first set. Packard led the Rangers in a four-point rally to pull ahead even further as they defeated the Bearcats 25-17.
 
The Rangers jumped out to a 5-2 lead in the second set. After battling through most of the set, Rossnagel earned a kill to spark a five-point rally to push ahead and win the set by three points.
 
The Rangers looked to put the match away in the third set, but after a tough battle, the Bearcats clawed their way back from the brink of defeat to take the set from the Rangers.
 
The two teams went back and forth in the fourth set, until a five-point rally led by Irvin allowed the Rangers to pull ahead and lead 21-16. The Rangers reached match point, and Lydia Biggin earned a kill to give the Rangers their third win of the weekend.
 
HEAR FROM COACH BAREA
"What a great Saturday! We had two huge team wins today. We are so proud of everyone and how we executed. As the weekend went on, we got a better every single match. Reese was dominate all day today, as well as Ava who led us in kills. Like it has been all season, our blocking was able to set us up for success. I'm really excited to get back in the gym and get ready for conference play next weekend!"
 
NOTEWORTHY STATS
Irvin led the way offensively, registering 23 kills on the day. Alysha Brickl and Lois each tallied 22 assists. The Rangers earned 15 services aces against McKendree and Minnesota Crookston. Defensively, Krznarich led the Rangers with eight blocks and Truckenbrod led the Rangers with 42 digs.
 
WHAT'S UP NEXT
The Rangers will travel to Ferris State on Sept. 9 to open GLIAC play against the Bulldogs. For more information, visit parksiderangers.com.