This Week in Peacock Volleyball...

Coming off of a tough week of Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference action last week, the road doesn’t get a whole lot easier for the Upper Iowa Volleyball team this weekend when they visit the far northeastern boundary of NSIC territory Friday and north central Minnesota on Saturday.

On Friday, UIU visits Duluth, Minn. to take on the #1-ranked Bulldogs of Minnesota Duluth.  The first serve is scheduled for 7 p.m. inside Romano Gymnasium.

Then on Saturday, the Peacocks visit Bemdiji, Minn. to battle the Beavers of Bemidji State University in a 4 p.m. clash.

Upper Iowa dropped a pair of contests with St. Cloud State and a match with the #7-ranked Concordia-St. Paul Golden Bears last week.  With the losses, UIU’s record dropped to 5-13 overall and 3-7 in NSIC play.

Looking ahead, the Peacocks return home Tuesday for their final non-conference match of the season against Ashford before another NSIC roadtrip next weekend.

 
Scouting the #1 Bulldogs

The Bulldogs of Minnesota Duluth enter Friday’s match with a 17-1 overall record and a 9-1 mark in NSIC play.  UMD suffered their only loss on October 1 at Wayne State and have since won three-in-a-row.  The Bulldogs defeated St. Cloud State 3-1 on Tuesday night.

Scouting the Beavers

Bemidji State enters Friday’s match with Winona State in the midst of a seven match losing streak dating back to a September 18 victory at UM, Crookston.  Since defeating the Golden Eagles, BSU has won just four sets.

The Golden Bears of Concordia-St. Paul defeated Bemidji State 3-0 on Tuesday night.

Series History

Since Upper Iowa transitioned to NCAA Division II, the Peacocks are 0-4 against Minnesota Duluth and 2-10 versus Bemidji State.

The Last Meeting

Upper Iowa and Minnesota Duluth last met on November 13, 2009, when the Bulldogs were ranked #17 in the country.  UMD defeated the Peacocks in a close match, 3-2.

UIU and Bemidji State last met on November 14 in what was the final action of the 2009 season for both teams.  Bemidji State swept Upper Iowa 3-0 in Bemidji, Minn.

Aces Wild

The Peacocks rank fourth in the NSIC in service aces with 1.48 per set.  Upper Iowa ranks only behind Minnesota State, Wayne State and Northern State in this category.

Junior Sara Vance leads the NSIC in service aces with nearly a half-ace per set (.49).