Sept. 16, 2008

Box Score

The Upper Iowa volleyball team traveled to St. Paul, Minnesota for their 2008 Northern Sun Conference opener. The Peacocks faced the Golden Bears of Concordia University, St. Paul, the defending NCAA Division II National Champion and current #2 team in the nation. The match marked the third time this season that the Peacocks have faced a ranked opponent. Concordia dominated the match with a team hitting percentage of .344 for the match, while Upper Iowa only managed a .103 hitting percentage. The Golden Bears picked up the win in three sets, 25-14, 25-18, 25-17. Concordia (12-1, 1-0 NSIC) and Upper Iowa (7-4, 0-1 NSIC) will get together for their second match of the season this coming Friday in Fayette.

Concordia started the night by hitting .500 in the first set to take the 25-14 win. They had another strong hitting performance in the second set, hitting .455 on their way to the 25-18 win. In the third set, the Golden Bears' hitting slipped quite a bit as they only registered a .143 percentage. However, the Peacocks could not take advantage of Concordia's mistakes as they made more errors than kills for a poor -.036 hitting percentage.

Emily Palkert led the Golden Bear offense as she tallied 15 kills, while Whitney Meierotto hit an impressive .611 with 12 kills. The top defender against the Peacocks was Rachel Knutsen, who registered eight digs.

The Peacock offense was led by Shea Meyermann with 8 kills. Keri Vance came up with 22 assists and 9 digs as well.

After the Peacocks and Golden Bears play their rematch on Friday night in Fayette at 7 p.m., Upper Iowa will turn around on Saturday and host the Huskies of St. Cloud State. Saturday's match will begin at 4 p.m. in Dorman Gym.