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This Weekend's Action... Upper Iowa returns home for five of their final six matches beginning with a pair this weekend. The Peacocks will host the Cougars of Sioux Falls on Friday night at 7 p.m. and then welcome the #1 Mustangs of Southwest Minnesota State on Saturday afternoon at 3 p.m. UIU defeated USF in five sets a night after being swept by SMSU earlier this month. The team will be honoring UIU faculty on Friday night while the Office of Student Development is sponsing a
Pink Out in support of the Susan G. Komen for the Cure fund. On Saturday, the team will be honoring their parents and family members.
Peacocks Ranked in the NCAA... Kayla Wagner is ranked 10th nationally in blocks with 1.33 per set and 84th in hitting percentage at .321.
Melanie Behnke is 47th in the country in kills with 3.6 per set and 88th in points per set with 3.8.
Skylar Lesan is 72nd nationally in assists with 9.4 per set. As a team, the Peacocks rank 37th in blocks per set at 2.19.
Peacocks Ranked in the NSIC... Wagner is first in blocks/set with 1.33 and tenth in hitting percentage at .321, while Behnke, UIU’s top hitter, is sixth in kills/set with 3.6. Sophomore
Amanda Weiss ranks tenth in digs with 4.12 per set.
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 324, while Mundt, a freshman, is second on the team with 247. Wagner has recorded 191 kills from her middle position. Lesan paces the Peacock offense with 629 assists, while Weiss leads the back row defense with 371 digs. Wagner, Hailey Brown and Maryn Fulton have combined for 236 blocks this year.
How the Cougars Fared Last Week... Senior middle blocker Sarah Kohler continues to have a stellar senior campaign and led the Cougars to their first-ever weekend NSIC sweep, posting 25 kills on a combined .255 attack clip in four-set wins against both Minot State and the University of Mary. Kohler paced the Cougar offense on Friday night with a team-high 14 kills on 27 swings with just three errors for a gaudy .407 attack percentage. With the match tied at 1-1, Kohler came up big in the pivotal third frame, posting four kills in the Cougars’ 25-20 set win. Against the Marauders, Kohler tallied 11 kills, two digs and a solo block but torched the visitors in the first set, scoring three of the Cougars’ first four points and four kills total in their 25-22 set victory. Kohler has racked up 201 kills this year and is currently hitting .297, both career highs. Alexa Reed, who transferred in from St. Leo’s University (Fla.), continues to shine in her first season as a Cougar. Reed dished 88 assists in the Cougars’ back-to-back wins against Minot State and the University of Mary, but Reed did much more than set the table for her teammates. Reed posted 46 assists and seven digs against the Beavers and also served up three aces and snuck into the front row for a solo block in the first set. The fourth and final set was never in question thanks in part to her efforts. With Reed serving, the Cougars scored four straight points to go up 12-6 and force Minot State to call a timeout. USF cruised the rest of the way and clinched the match when sophomore middle blocker Samantha Lovell stuffed home a perfect pass from Reed. Reed was even better on Saturday, as she tallied 42 assists but also showed off her physical skills with a career-high seven kills and a match-high .500 attack percentage. She also dug out six Marauder shots and chipped in an ace and two blocks, one solo. Reed sits eighth in the NSIC with 815 total assists (9.82 per set).
How the #1 Mustangs Fared Last Week... Devin Diedrich continued her quest for NSIC Player of the Year as she continued to lead the Mustangs this week with wins over Sioux Falls, U-Mary and Minot State. The senior middle blocker finished the week with an astounding .525 attack percentage to go along with her 34 kills in just 9 sets (3.78 k/s). Diedrich showed her all-around play this week as she added nine more total blocks and two service aces to her resume. Emilee Gutzmer dished out 88 assists in wins over Sioux Falls, U-Mary and Minot State this past weekend for an 11 assist per set average. The freshman setter set up a Mustang attack that hit .378 over the weekend, including a season high .436 against the University of Mary on Saturday. Gutzmer was also instrumental in the service department, as she recorded an impressive eight aces in eight sets. Rachel Westby continued her strong libero play this week as she notched 37 digs in just nine sets for a 4.11 digs per set. Domeier also displayed superior defensive skills as she tallied 25 digs.
