DETROIT — Parkside (13-9, 5-6 GLIAC) lost 3-1 to Wayne St. (MI) (12-11, 5-7 GLIAC) on Friday. The Rangers opened with a 25-20 set win and hit .441 in that set, but dropped the next three 20-25, 19-25 and 20-25.
After the Warriors took the first point, the Rangers scored the next four, getting two early kills from
Emily Zaper and another from
Sierra Kilbourn to move ahead 4-1. The Rangers later led 11-7 after back-to-back blocks involving
Maia Olson, but Wayne State tied the set at 11-11 behind a Katie Smith kill, a block and consecutive Kyleigh Weck kills. The Warriors moved in front 14-13 before Olson tied it with a kill, and the Rangers pushed back ahead with
Masina Reuter's ace and kills from
Dani Kopacz, Reuter and
Avary Polavin on the way to a 22-18 edge. After Wayne State closed within 22-20, Polavin's kill,
Lauren Peters' service ace and a Wayne State attack error finished a 25-20 opening-set win for the Rangers.
The Rangers erased an early 4-2 deficit and moved ahead 7-5, with
Monica Lukasiewicz and
Dani Kopacz involved in blocks,
Masina Reuter serving an ace and Kopacz adding a kill from Reuter. The Rangers still led 12-10 before the Warriors scored five straight points, including a Lauren Essenpreis kill and two Doga Muhtaroglu aces, to go in front 15-12. The Rangers stayed within 18-21 on a Zaper kill and later got a Kilbourn kill and a Kopacz/Lukasiewicz block to make it 23-20, but Wayne State reached set point on a Kyleigh Weck kill and closed the set 25-20 on an attack error.
Polavin had two kills in the opening stretch, and the Rangers moved ahead 5-3 on
Dani Kopacz's kill before Wayne State answered with three straight points to go in front 6-5. The score was tied again at 7-7, 8-8, 9-9, 11-11, 12-12 and 13-13, with Kilbourn and Zaper recording Rangers kills during that stretch. The Warriors then scored the next three points — two service aces by Lauren Essenpreis and a Katerina Stout kill — to take a 16-13 lead, and added a Katie Smith kill and Giselle Burlingame ace on the way to a 20-15 advantage. The Rangers got late points on a Zaper kill and a block by Kilbourn and Lukasiewicz to pull to 24-19, but Stout closed the set for Wayne State at 25-19.
After the Warriors moved in front 6-4, the Rangers took five of the next six points, getting kills from Lukasiewicz and Zaper and a block by Olson and
Dani Kopacz to go ahead 9-7. Wayne State tied it at 10-10, but the Rangers scored three straight with Kilbourn and Olson combining on a block during the stretch and later led 17-14 on a Lukasiewicz kill. Wayne State scored the next six points, including a block by Katerina Stout and Katie Smith and three kills between them, to move ahead 20-17. The Rangers got back within 23-20 on Olson's kill and
Lucy Russ' ace, but Smith had the final two Wayne State kills to close the set 25-20.
The Rangers finished with a season-high 12 blocks.
Avary Polavin led the way with 11 kills on a .308 hitting percentage, three blocks, including two solo blocks, and 13.5 points. Polavin also recorded at least 11 kills in three consecutive games.
Maia Olson contributed six kills on a .238 hitting percentage and six blocks, including one solo, for 9.5 points, while
Sierra Kilbourn added 10 kills, three blocks and 11.5 points.
Natalie Harris led the defensive effort with 23 digs and three assists, while
Lucy Russ recorded 27 assists, six digs and one service ace.
The Rangers are 13-9 overall and 5-6 in GLIAC play. Wayne St. (MI) is 12-11 overall and 5-7 in GLIAC play.
Up next, the Rangers volleyball team travels to Allendale, MI, to face Grand Valley State University on Saturday, Oct. 24.
For all things Parkside Volleyball, including links to live coverage, visit ParksideRangers.com/coverage.
