The Peacocks and Wolves of Northern State University locked up in a thrilling five-set battle on Saturday afternoon in Fayette. Upper Iowa and their guests alternated wins in the first four sets setting up a winner-take-all fifth set. The Wolves were able to fight off a match point by the Peacocks and won the final set 18-16. In the end, NSU outscored UIU by one point on the day. Northern State improved to 18-8 and 11-7 in the NSIC with the win, while Upper Iowa fell to 11-15 overall and 6-12 in the conference.
The Peacocks honored their five seniors prior to the match and came out strong in the first set holding the NSU offense to a .053 hitting percentage while converting on 12 kills for a 25-22 win. Northern State rallied late in the second set to tie the match at 1-1 thanks to a 26-24 win; the Wolves trailed by five, 18-13, but outscored their hosts 13-6 to close out the frame.
UIU bounced back in the third set, but not before falling behind 15-9. The Peacocks used a 11-5 run to tie the match at 20-20 and continued their run to win 25-21 scoring the final four points of the set, 25-21. In the fourth set, UIU fell behind by three points late, but rallied to pull within one, 21-20, NSU scored four of the final five points in the game to claim the 25-21 win.
In the deciding set, Northern State held an 8-6 lead as the teams switched sides of the court. Following a pair of attack errors on the Wolves, Upper Iowa tied the score at 12-12. The teams alternated points and remained tied at 14-14. NSU had their second match point stifled by a kill off the hand of
Alisha VanderWoude to the match at 15-15. UIU followed with a
Jennifer Mundt kill to take a 16-15 lead and have their shot at the match win. NSU spoiled the opportunity with three straight kills to win the set, 18-16.
Hailey Brown celebrated her final match in Dorman Gym with her seventh triple-double of the season recording 13 kills, 28 assists and 17 digs. Mundt led the offense with 25 kills and added a team-high 25 digs, as well as 5 blocks. The 25 kills give the junior hitter 406 kills this season, which breaks the former single-season mark of 397 set by Melanie Behnke in 2012.
Tyann Caspers put 10 kills away, while VanderWoude added 9.
Jenna Hermsen handed out 32 assists and chipped in 10 digs, while
Amanda Weiss capped off her career at home with 24 digs.
"It was a great match today as both teams played very well," said Head Coach Aaron Nelson. "I couldn't be more proud of how we fought today and these last few weeks. We have played some of the best volleyball UIU has seen. It's tough to swallow not coming out on top when you play that well, but we've shown our character by sticking together and battling the top teams in this conference and nation. Our five seniors will be leaving the program better than they found it and we will continue to work and build until we are one of those top teams."
Upper Iowa will wrap up their 2014 campaign next week on the road with their longest roadtrip of the season. The Peacocks will play at Minot State University on Friday and at the University of Mary on Saturday.
