Box Score
Records
Upper Iowa 4-7 (0-2 NSIC) || Minnesota State 6-3 (2-0 NSIC)
Recap
The Peacock volleyball team got a spark in the form of their senior leader
Melanie Behnke for their home match versus Minnesota State University, Mankato this evening in Fayette. Behnke returned to the court for the first team this season after suffering an off-court injury that held her out of the first 10 matches. The Seymour, Wis. made her impact felt on the night tallying 20 kills for the Peacocks and hitting a blistering .621.
Upper Iowa won the first and third sets by scores of 25-22 and 25-16 with the Mavericks getting a win in the second, 25-20. The visitors edged the Peacocks 25-21 in set four and then dominated the fifth set's second half.
UIU hit well in the match registering a team hitting percentage of .288, but Minnesota State claimed a slight advantage with a .293 thanks to two more kills on the night. The Mavericks also held a 6-4 advantage in team blocks and an 8-4 advantage in service aces.
After picking up a 25-22 win in set one, the Peacocks posted a whopping .600 hitting percentage in set two, but still fell to MSU. The Mavericks hit .484 as both offenses were working at a blistering pace that gave the defenses little room to adjust. UIU's dominance in the third set came thanks to another impressive hitting performance that saw the Peacocks knock down 16 kills with only 2 attack errors, while the defense held MSU to a .241 percentage.
In the fourth set, the Mavericks inserted Olivia Kuker and the MSU sub gave the Peacocks trouble posting 4 kills in the set. The teams were tied at 12-12 before MSU tried to pull away. Minnesota State led 20-19 minutes later and then closed the set out with a 5-2 run.
The Mavericks repeated their end-of-the-set run in the final set. With the Peacocks down one, 8-7, Minnesota State closed the decision out with an 7-2 run for the victory.
UIU Standouts
Behnke (20 kills, .621 hitting, 2 blocks) |
Chelsea Berry (11 kills, 13 digs, 2 blocks) |
Hailey Brown (47 assists, 12 digs, 8 kills)
Next Up
UIU will take on the Warriors of Winona State University next Tuesday, Sept. 24, at 7 p.m. on Prochaska Court in Fayette. Next weekend, the Peacocks will host the Golden Eagles of the University of Minnesota Crookston on Friday at 7 p.m. and the Beavers of Bemidji State University on Saturday at 4 p.m.
