Mankato, MN – On day two of the Maverick Invite, the Rangers faced defeat in both of their matches. In the morning, they took a 2-0 lead before falling in the final three sets against the Upper Iowa Peacocks. Later in the night, the Rangers were swept by the Mankato Mavericks.
GAME ONE
Inside the box score:
- Ava Irvin registered 26 kills while swinging at .269.
- Natalie Harris tallied 29 digs, just one shy of her career high of 30 on 10/7/23.
- Sam Fisch set a new career high in kills (18).
How it happened:
An early morning start didn't stop the Rangers from firing on all cylinders. They took the first set in dominant fashion, swinging .262 in a 25-18 victory. Elizabeth Truckenbrod led the Rangers with an impressive six kills in that set alone. Additionally, Sam Fisch and Ava Irvin got their big games going early, with five kills each.
In the second set, the Rangers came out blazing, jumping to an immediate 9-1 lead. The incredible run included four kills from Irvin, with setter Karlee Lois adding a kill of her own. The Rangers maintained control, taking the set 25-20, with Irvin adding nine more kills.
The Peacocks responded with a vengeance in the third set, making a statement by taking it 25-15. The fourth set was more competitive, with Parkside leading 22-18 after continued domination from Irvin. However, Upper Iowa overcame the deficit, scoring the last five points to force a fifth set with a nail-biting 25-23 win.
Momentum shifted completely to Upper Iowa in the fifth set, as they rode their energy to a 15-7 victory. The Peacocks completed an improbable comeback, taking the final three sets to defeat the Rangers.
GAME TWO
Inside the box score:
- Sam Fisch tallied 16 kills, marking her third straight game with double-figure kills.
- Parkside recorded 10 service errors and 21 attack errors as a team.
How it happened:
After a gut-wrenching loss earlier in the morning, the Rangers had to wait until 9 PM for their second match of the day. They started strong, racing to a 6-1 lead with three kills from
Sam Fisch and two from
Elizabeth Truckenbrod. However, despite maintaining their advantage for most of the set, the Rangers lost the lead for the first time at the 22nd point, hitting just .140 and committing nine errors in a 25-23 opening set loss.
Mankato carried that momentum into the second set, cruising to a 25-18 win after leading by as much as nine points. The third set started similarly, but Parkside quickly made things interesting. Trailing 24-18, the Rangers rallied for six straight points to extend the set. Sam Fisch picked up two critical kills, and Karlee Lois delivered an ace to tie it. Fisch wasn't done, adding two go-ahead kills and a set-tying one, but the Rangers ultimately fell short, losing the thrilling set 30-28 and the match 3-0.
Next:
After the pair of losses, the Rangers dropped to 1-2 on the young season. They will play their final game in the Maverick Invite tomorrow at noon against Minnesota State Moorhead. For coverage of the event, visit ParksideRangers.com/coverage.
