This Week in Peacock Volleyball...

Winners of their last three home matches, the Upper Iowa Volleyball team closes out the home portion of the 2010 season this weekend by hosting a pair of Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference matches inside Dorman Gym this Friday and Saturday.

On Friday, the Peacocks look to extend their home winning streak as they welcome the Vikings of Augustana College to Fayette for a 7 p.m. showdown.

UIU closes out the home schedule on Saturday when the #1-ranked Wildcats of Wayne State make the trip to Fayette for a 3 p.m. match.

Saturday also marks Senior Day for the Peacocks.  Seniors Tatiana Jackson and Alex Fink will be honored following the match.

Scouting the Vikings

Augustana enters Friday’s match with a 12-14 overall record which includes a 8-9 mark in NSIC action and currently stand in seventh-place in the NSIC standings.

The Vikings have dropped three of their last four matches with the lone win coming against St. Cloud State last Friday night, 3-2.

Augie is led offensively by sophomore Jordan Spatenka who averages 2.84 kills per set.

Scouting the #4 Wildcats

The Wildcats of Wayne State make the trip to Winona, Minn. on Friday with a 23-3 overall record and a 14-3 mark in NSIC action, placing them fourth in the league standings.

WSC has won seven of their last eight matches with the only loss in that stretch coming against the current #1-ranked team in the nation, Concordia-St. Paul, 3-0, last Friday.

Saturday’s opponents are also ranked third in the NCAA Central Region.  The top eight squads in the regional rankings at the end of the season will be invited to the NCAA Division II Central Region Tournament.

Series History

Since moving to NCAA Division II, the Peacocks have combined for a 0-13 record against the Vikings and Wildcats.  UIU is 0-3 against Augustana and 0-10 against the Wildcats of Wayne State.

The Last Meeting

This marks the second time this season that Upper Iowa has met Augustana and Wayne State.

On September 17, the Peacocks lost to the Vikings 3-0 in Sioux Falls, SD before dropping a match with Wayne State the following afternoon in Wayne, Neb., 3-1.

Aces Wild

The Peacocks rank second in the NSIC in service aces with 1.52 per set.  Upper Iowa ranks only behind Northern State in this category.

Junior Sara Vance leads the NSIC in service aces by averaging just over a half-ace (0.51) per set.

Vance Named NSIC POW

Sara Vance, a junior from Tampa, Fla., has been named the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) Offensive Player of the Week. This honor is the fourth NSIC Player of the Week award earned by an Upper Iowa student-athlete this year.

Vance led the Peacock offense to a 2-0 record at home last weekend as the Peacocks won six of their seven sets played. Vance tallied 27 kills (3.86/set), added nine service aces, three blocks to average 5.43 points per set. Her 1.29 aces per set topped the league and her points were second best.