Three days can seem like an eternity. Upper Iowa has waited for three days to get back on the court with the Warriors of Winona State. The Warriors dismantled the Peacocks in Winona, Minn. on Tuesday taking the match quickly in straight sets. Both teams went into the match on Tuesday looking for their first NSIC win, so tonight the Peacocks were looking for revenge and a bit of redemption in front of the Fayette faithful. Upper Iowa found that redemption with wins in the second, fourth and fifth sets to post a victory and move to 3-10 on the year and 1-4 in the conference.
The two teams played a fairly even first set, but it was the Warriors who came out on top, 25-20. Upper Iowa started the match on fire leading 6-1, but the visitors used a 7-2 run to tie the match at 8-8. Midway through the set Winona State began to pull ahead from Upper Iowa and was able to hold on down the stretch for the set win. The home team recorded 13 kills in the set led by Kayla Wagner’s 5 and Sara Vance’s 4, while Katie Froehle and Krista Boque each put down 4 to pace the guests.
UIU opened the second set well taking another early lead, but this time the Peacocks pushed their early advantage to six points, 14-8. Upper Iowa held tough through a short, three-point run by Winona State to recapture their advantage, 18-12, en route to a 25-22 victory. The home team hit .250 in the set, while WSU was limited to just a percentage of .081. Vance, Wagner, and Nicky Brown continued to lead the way for the attack, while Skylar Lesan set it up with 15 assists in set two.
After the break, both teams came out strong as the match remained tight in the early going. The Warriors used a 6-1 run to take a 15-10 lead, but the ladies in white rallied to close the gap to two points, 18-16. Winona State closed the third set out by scoring seven of the final ten points to take a 2-1 lead in the match thanks to a 25-19 win. The team’s hitting fortunes reversed in set three as WSU posted a .344 percentage thanks to only a pair of hitting errors, while UIU hit .156 with six miscues.
With their backs against the wall, the Peacocks came out strong in set four taking a quick 10-3 lead behind the service game of Brown. Upper Iowa continued to lead the set with an aggressive attack and scrappy defense. The Peacocks took the fourth set by a 25-18 count and forced the match to a fifth and final set. Neither team hit well in the fourth set as the teams combined for 17 kills and 15 hitting errors.
The Warriors opened the final set with a 3-1 lead, but the home team quickly met them at 4-4 on a Brown tip that found the hardwood. When the teams switched ends, Upper Iowa found themselves up two on the scoreboard, 8-6. The teams locked up at 10-10 as the match turned into a race to five points. The Peacocks took the first two points in that race and forced a WSU timeout. A Brown kill to the deep corner and a Vance tip past the defense put UIU in control 14-10. The match ended two points later on a long rally when Sara Vance put kill number 20 of the night to the floor for a 15-11 win and the Peacocks first Northern Sun Conference win of the season.
Vance’s 20 kills were accompanied by Wagner’s 12 and Brown’s 10. Lesan paced the UIU offense with 52 assists, while the defense was highlighted by four players with double figure digs. Danielle Gernes had a team-high 16, while Vance (14), Lesan (13), and Brown (11) all followed closely.
While Upper Iowa’s month of September did not go as planned, it certainly ended on a high note at home. The team will not return to the court until Friday and Saturday, Oct. 1-2, when they host the Wolves of Northern State and the Marauders of the University of Mary. The match on Friday will begin at 7 p.m., while the Saturday contest will start at 3 p.m.
