ASHLAND, OH - The Parkside Rangers continued their play in the 2023 Ashland Tournament, gearing up for battles against both West Liberty University, and D'Youville University. Against WLU, Parkside started off hot and on the right foot. Despite that early effort, the Rangers were taken down in four sets. In their third game of the tournament, the Rangers were able to get back on their feet and in the win column.
MATCH ONE vs. West Liberty
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE:
-
Karlee Lois scored her second consecutive double-double, totaling a team best 36 assists and 23 digs
-
Ava Irvin and Sam Fisch combined for 14 kills each
Parkside came out firing in the opening set. After a dominant Thursday night, the Rangers carried that momentum to jump out to an early lead, 13-5. Mariena Coon clearly came to play, as a big kill early on set the tone. Karlee Lois continued to play crucial volleyball. Lois had the play of the day when she turned an acrobatic dig into a kill on her next touch. She picked up eight assists, while Sierra Marhall found herself leading the charge with nine digs. The Hilltoppers kept the score close, but never possessed a lead in set one. Parkside won the set 25-19.
Set two began very tight. Mariena Coon nailed her fifth kill just minutes into the set, at the time she led the Rangers. It wasn't long before the Hilltoppers used that late push in set one, to ignite the largest run of the game. WLU scored ten of eleven points and jumped ahead 16-6. The Rangers were unable to recover and the set ended 25-8, in favor of the Hilltoppers.
WLU rode the wave of set two into set three jumping ahead six to nothing in the blink of an eye. The Rangers got points back thanks to Sam Fisch and Marissa Lootens, but it wasn't enough. The score got as close as 20-16, but the Hilltoppers prevailed and won 25-19 in set three.
Trailing two sets to one, the Rangers had their backs against the wall. After jumping ahead three points immediately, the Hilltoppers took control and gained the lead right back. The Rangers didn't go down without a fight. They put together a six to nothing run, courtesy of three straight Ava Irvin terminations.
Although the Rangers fought hard and made things interesting, they were unable to get the lead back. Set four ended 25-22 in a tightly contested match. The West Liberty Hilltoppers won by a score of 3-1. The Parkside Rangers dropped to 1-1 on the young season.
MATCH TWO vs. D'Youville
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE:
After a rough go in game two of the Ashland Tournament, the Parkside Rangers bounced back in a big way. They were slated to do battle with D'Youville University in game three of the tournament. It was a familiar face who led the way for the Rangers, as Karlee Lois continues to shine in her junior year. "Karlee did a great job distributing the offense and our first contact on serve receive and defense was the best it's been for the weekend so far" , said head coach Leigh Barea.
The opening set remained close throughout the beginning stages. However, the Rangers were able to prevail as Sam Fisch came up with a nifty play to help sway the momentum of the game. Sierra Marshall closed out the set with an ace and the Rangers never looked back. They held on for a 25-18 victory.
The second and third sets were a lot different for the Rangers. The story was riding an early lead all the way to the finish line. Marshall continued her dominance, she tallied three aces in the match. Parkside finished with ten aces, while the Saints only recorded one. The Rangers were able to share the love as at least eight players recorded a kill. Lindsay Krznarich played her best game yet, finishing with seven kills on 16 tries, hitting (.313). The Rangers took set two 25-14, and set three 25-15 to complete a sweep over the D'Youville Saints.
Leigh Barea was very pleased with how her team bounced back from the early morning loss. "I was really proud of our rebound in the second match. Everyone was focused and engaged to execute the game plan as well as make adjustments when needed."
The Rangers will finish up their weekend by taking on the host, Ashland University at 2:30 p. m. (ET). You can find coverage at https://parksiderangers.com/coverage.
