Sept. 19, 2008

Box Score

What a difference three days make. Just three days ago the #2 Golden Bears of Concordia University, St. Paul dominated the 2008 Northern Sun opener in St. Paul sweeping the Peacocks in three games. Tonight Upper Iowa came out to compete and had Concordia, the defending NCAA Division II National Champion, on its heels. The Peacocks took the first set 25-19, but fell in the final three sets 25-17, 25-19, and 25-21. The Peacocks were only outplayed during the second set; otherwise the upset-minded home team went hit for hit with the Golden Bears. With the loss, UIU saw its record fall to 7-5 overall and 0-2 in the NSIC, while CU improved to 13-1 overall and 2-0 in the NSIC.

Upper Iowa forced Concordia into 7 errors in the first set as the visitors hit .056. The Peacocks countered with 16 kills and only 4 errors (.324) to take the opening set. Set two saw the teams reverse results as the Golden Bears hit .450 with 14 kills and the Peacocks hit .080 with only 9 kills. In set three, UIU hit an improved .296 with 11 kills, but couldn't match up to the 15 kills and .400 percentage of CU. Upper Iowa took a 20-17 lead late in the fourth set, but Concordia rattled off an 8-1 point run, including the final four points, to take the set and the match.

The Golden Bears were led by the offense of Raina Hein and Whitney Meierotto, who each registered 18 kills. Maggie McNamara set up the offense with 43 assists. Emily Palkert and Rachel Knutson led the Concordia defense with 12 and 11 digs, respectively. CU also came up big at the net with 12 team blocks including 4 assisted blocks from Maria Steinhagen and a pair of solo and a pair of assisted blocks from Meierotto.

The Peacocks were led by Beth Deutmeyer who tallied 11 kills. Nicky Brown and Shea Meyermann added 9 kills, while Sara Vance recorded 8. Keri Vance set up the offense as she dished out 34 assists on the night. Leading the UIU defense was Meyermann (8 digs) and Dani Coppin (7 digs). The Peacocks also played well at the net as they registered 7 team blocks. Leading the charge at the net was Kim Humpal who assisted on 6 blocks.

Upper Iowa will return to Prochaska Court in Dorman Gym tomorrow afternoon to face the Huskies of St. Cloud State in another Northern Sun Conference match up. The first serve is scheduled for 4 p.m. in Fayette.