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LIVE STATS: vs. Minnesota Duluth | vs. St. Cloud State
This Weekend's Action... Upper Iowa is on the road this weekend for matches with the #6 Bulldogs of Minnesota Duluth and the Huskies of St. Cloud State. The Peacocks are tied with Northern State in 8th place in the NSIC standings, while UMD sits in a tie for 2nd place and SCSU is tied for 13th in the conference.
Peacocks Ranked in the NSIC... A pair of Peacocks, junior Melanie Behnke and senior Kayla Wagner, are ranked in the top ten of two categories in the Northern Sun. Behnke, UIU’s top hitter, is sixth in kills/set with 3.73 and ninth in points/set with 3.98. Wagner is first in blocks/set with 1.3 and tenth in hitting percentage at .321. Sophomore Amanda Weiss ranks tenth in digs with 4.11 per set, while senior Skylar Lesan is ninth in the NSIC in assists per set with 9.49.
Leading the Peacocks... On offense, the Peacocks are led by the trio of Behnke, Jennifer Mundt and Wagner. Behnke leads the team in kills with 313, while Mundt, a freshman, is second on the team with 232. Wagner has recorded 183 kills from her middle position. Lesan paces the Peacock offense with 579 assists, while Weiss leads the back row defense with 348 digs. Wagner, Hailey Brown and Maryn Fulton have combined for 219 blocks this year.
How the #6 Bulldogs Fared Last Week... On a second consecutive lengthy road trip, UMD settled for a weekend split at Augustana and Wayne State. The Bulldogs suffered a major upset at the hands of Augustana Friday night, falling in a five-set thriller at Elmen Center in Sioux Falls, S.D. UMD took the first set comfortably, but dropped the next two and could not complete a comeback, ultimately succumbing in the decisive fifth frame. Saturday afternoon was a completely different story, as the Bulldogs romped to a 3-0 win over No. 19 Wayne State to avoid losing consecutive matches for the first time since Nov. 11-12, 2011. Junior outside hitter Kate Lange posted 34 kills on the weekend (4.25 per set) to lead the UMD offense. Far and away the NSIC’s leader in kills per set (5.03 for the season), Lange also put up numbers on defense with a combined 31 digs and a pair of double-doubles on the weekend.
How the Huskies Fared Last Week... The St. Cloud State University volleyball team traveled to Wayne, Neb. and Sioux Falls, S.D. to take on Wayne State College and Augustana College over the weekend. The Huskies were defeated in both matches, but walked away from the weekend feeling positive about their team improvements. Against Wayne State, Rachel Burke (Madison, Wis.) led St. Cloud State with nine kills in 28 total attacks. Dani Domeier (Norwood Young America) finished with seven kills in 31 total attacks. She also added 12 digs. Allison Butler (Burnsville) tallied 17 assists, four kills and four digs. The Huskies couldn’t match up to Wayne State’s size as they were forced into 29 attack errors compared to Wayne State’s nine. The Huskies were ultimately defeated by Augustana College but only after being down two sets to zero, the Huskies fought back winning the third set and taking the fourth to a close 25-27. Assistant Coach Marci Peniata recapped the match stating, “I am very pleased with how we competed against a solid Augustana team. Tonight we played together throughout the entire match.” Dani Domeier (Norwood Young America) paved the way for the Huskies offense as she finished the day with 14 kills hitting .273. Domeier also displayed superior defensive skills as she tallied 25 digs.
