(LEBANON, Ill., Oct. 22)—The McKendree University women's volleyball team dropped a 3-2 decision to the University of Wisconsin-Parkside Saturday afternoon in Kenosha, WI. The Bearcats fell by scores of 26-24, 21-25, 25-21, 23-25, and 15-13.

The loss dips McKendree to 14-9 overall and 9-2 in the Great Lakes Valley Conference. The Bearcats return to the Harry M. Statham Sports Center in their next match on Oct. 28 against Maryville University.

Junior outside hitter Arela Williams (San Diego, CA/LaJolla Country Day) led the way for McKendree with 20 kills along with 21 digs and four blocks. Senior right side Allison Schneider (St. Louis, MO/Lindbergh) finished with 18 kills and 17 digs. Junior right side Amanda Geiger (Tomball, TX/Concordia Lutheran) tallied 15 kills to go with 6 digs and four blocks.

Sophomore setter Morgan Melchert (Mt. Vernon, IA/Mt. Vernon) dished out a career high 37 assists while senior setter Aubry Dickmann (Edwardsville, IL/Edwardsville) chipped in 25 helpers and nine digs. Junior middle hitter Carissa Lorenz (New Lenox, IL/Lincoln-Way West) put down a team high five blocks and freshman libero Alissa Zeitelhack (Overland Park, KS/Blue Valley West) stuck 21 digs from the back row for the Bearcats.

Schneider got the scoring started for McKendree with the of the first four kills for the Bearcats, but the Rangers outscored McKendree for a 6-5 lead. Williams followed suit with the next three kills as the scored moved to 13-11 in favor of Wisconsin-Parkside. Schneider connected on back to back kills to cut the lead to 15-14, but the Rangers were able to strike back, capturing a 21-18 lead. A four point run by the Bearcats that included a pair of kills from Geiger gave McKendree its first lead of the day at 22-21. Wisconsin-Parkside countered with three of the next four points to take a 24-23 lead, before Schneider landed a kill to tie things at 24. The Rangers put down a kills to force set point and were able to sneak away with the set one win on a Bearcat ball handling error on the final point.

Williams and freshman middle hitter Megan Marks (Colgate, WI/Germantown) opened with a kill each in the second set before a 7-1 run from McKendree bolstered a 15-8 lead that included four kills from Williams. Schneider, Lorenz, and Geiger each put down kills as the Bearcats extended the lead to 21-13. The Rangers tried to put together a comeback effort scoring five straight points to cut the lead to 24-21, but couldn't overcome the early deficit as McKendree knotted the match at 1-1.

Wisconsin-Parkside used three straight blocks to open the third set before moving ahead 5-1. The Bearcats responded with an 8-2 run to take a 10-9 lead thanks to a trio of kills from Williams. The Rangers rattled off a four straight points to recapture the lead before using a pair of 3-0 runs to go up 23-17. Williams added two more kills to close the gap at 23-20, but Wisconsin-Parkside was able to close out the set with a pair of kills.

McKendree used a 6-3 run to take a 9-6 lead in the fourth set on a three kills from freshman outside hitter Kelly Voss (St. Rose, IL/Mater Dei ) and a pair of kills from Schneider. The Bearcats extended the lead to 16-11 with a 6-1 run before a pair of kills from Geiger and a kill from Williams put McKendree on top 23-18. Parkside pulled within one at 23-22 on the heels of a four point run, but the Bearcats were able to even that match at 2-2 as Geiger and Schneider closed out the set with a kill each.

The Rangers took the first three points of the fifth and final set as they opened with a 4-1 lead. McKendree capitalized on a kill from Geiger and four errors from Wisconsin-Parkside to string together five of the next six points and claim a 6-5 lead. The Rangers bounced back with a 5-0 run to move in front 10-6, but the Bearcats refused to go away quietly as Schneider sparked a 4-1 run that included a trio of kills from Voss. Wisconsin-Parkside grabbed a pair of points to go up 13-11, but a block from Williams and Lorenz and a kill from Marks squared the set at 13-13. The Rangers were able to land a kill before closing out the set and the match with a block to earn the win.