After claiming the first set in dominant fashion, the Peacocks dropped three straight sets at Augustana College on Friday night in Sioux Falls, S.D.  Upper Iowa couldn't keep their offense clicking after the first set as the home Vikings got stronger as the match continued.  UIU falls to 10-12 overall and 5-9 in the NSIC  after the loss, while Augie improves to 15-7 overall and 8-6 in the conference.

Upper Iowa was led by Hailey Brown, who racked up 11 kills, 26 assists and 8 digs.  Jennifer Mundt knocked down 10 kills on the night moving to 955 in her career; the junior needs just 45 more to reach the 1,000-kill plateau.  Haylie Franklin led the team in digs from her middle position with 14, while Taylor Wiliiams and Amanda Weiss had 13 and 12, respectively.  Alisha VanderWoude protected the net with 4 blocks.

Augustana jumped out to an early lead in the first set, 9-3, but Upper Iowa was able to rally and take a 14-10 lead thanks to an 11-1 run that featured 5 kills off the right hand of Kelsey Hinrichs.  The Peacocks kept the pressure on taking their biggest lead, 22-14, by eight.  A kill by Brown capped the set and gave the visitors a 25-18 win to start the match.

UIU's offense, which hit .283 in the first set with 16 kills and 3 errors, went cold in the second and third sets with too many errors.  The Peacocks combined for 20 kills and 16 errors in the middle two sets hitting .000 in the second and .100 in the third.  Upper Iowa improved their hitting in the final frame, but Augustana's attack was too much to overcome in the fourth set.

The Vikings were led by Courtney Yaker's 25 kills and 19 digs and Marissa Johnson's 51 assists.  Augustana hit progressively better in each successive set with percentages of .143, .229, .273 and .324.

Upper Iowa will head to Wayne, Nebraska to challenge the #6 Wildcats of Wayne State College on Saturday at 4 p.m.