LIVE OPTION LINKSLive Stats – vs. Northern Michigan || vs. Michigan Tech || vs. Lake Superior State || vs. UW-ParksideLive Video – vs. Michigan Tech
NSIC Preseason Release || Keweenaw Classic Website
This Weekend in Peacock Volleyball… Upper Iowa is ready to open their 2014 campaign this weekend in Houghton, Michigan at the Keweenaw Classic hosted by Michigan Technological University. The Peacocks will take on Northern Michigan and the host Huskies on Friday at 3:30 and 7:30 p.m. before returning to the court on Saturday for a pair of matches against Lake Superior State University and the University of Wisconsin-Parkside at 11 a.m. and 3 p.m.
Senior Setter… Hailey Brown was named as a NSIC Player to Watch heading into her senior season. The Elroy, Wisconsin native started and played in 28 of UIU's 30 matches in 2013 as the squad's primary setter. Brown recorded 707 assists and added 184 kills, 228 digs, 43 blocks and 33 aces as Upper Iowa's top all-around player. The senior registered season-highs in assists (49) against Bemidji State (9/28/13), kills (16) versus St. Cloud State (11/8/13) and digs (16) versus Minot State (11/1/13). Over her first three seasons in Peacock blue, Brown has racked up 1,196 assists, 416 kills, 588 digs, 75 aces and 127 blocks.
A Look Back to 2013… The Peacock volleyball team finished the 2013 season with an 8-22 overall and a 4-16 record in the NSIC. Upper Iowa, who graduated five starters from 2012, took the court with the majority of their lineup consisting of freshman and sophomores. A total of nine Peacock players competed for the Peacocks in a contributing role for the first time.
Leaders Return for 2014… The UIU offense was led by current junior
Jennifer Mundt (328 kills) and sophomore
Chelsea Berry (243 kills) paced by Brown's set-ups. Senior
Amanda Weiss (398 digs) and sophomore
Kelsey Hinrichs (249 digs) held down the back line defense, while sophomore
Alisha VanderWoude (84 blocks) and senior
Haylie Franklin (79 blocks) played big at the net. Weiss heads into her fourth season with 960 digs on the back line and will likely surpass the 1,000-dig mark this weekend.
A Glimpse at the Peacocks' Opponents…NMU Wildcats… Northern Michigan, which went 23-10 last season including a 15-3 Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference mark, returns three starters and a libero from last year's squad and six total letter winners. The Wildcats, who finished in a tie for third place in the league last year, return some quality contributors from last season including 6-0 junior outside hitter Lisa Studnicka who racked up 313 total attacks and 96 kills last season. Sophomore Alex Larsen also returns for the Wildcats. The 5-11 right-side hitter had a solid freshman campaign with 226 kills and 584total attacks. Junior libero, Alex Berger also returns for NMU after leading the squad with 449 digs and ranking second with 94 assists last season.
MTU Huskies… A season ago the Huskies finished 10-20 overall and 6-12 in the GLIAC. Top returners this season are right side hitter/middle blocker Sylvie Rokosh, defensive specialist Jacqueline Aird and outside hitter Aubrey Ficek. Rokosh has recorded over 250 kills in each of her first two seasons. Last year she had 260 kills, averaging 2.26 per set. She had 10 matches with double digit kills and was also second on the team with 39 total blocks. Aird was a dominant force on defense for the Huskies with 419 digs, good for 3.64 per set. Her dig total was ranked fourth all-time in Tech history. Aird ranked ninth in the GLIAC in overall digs and 11th in digs per set. Ficek is a six-rotation player who played significant time as a freshman. She led the GLIAC in service aces per set (0.56) and was second in overall aces (45). Ficek also recorded 187 kills and 129 digs.
LSSU Lakers… The Lakers return four starters and libero Meghan Drobish while bringing in eight newcomers to the 2014 squad. Drobish, who ranked fifth in the GLIAC in average digs per set (4.51) in 2013, is the team's only senior. Sophomore OH Jen Marren totaled 241 kills as a rookie and finished second on the team in average kills per set (2.84), while junior MH Sydne McMullen led the Lakers in blocks with 51. LSSU also returns second-year setter Janelle Nagy, and three other returning letter winners. The Lakers were 4-21 overall and 2-16 in the GLIAC during Constantino's first season.
UWP Rangers… UW-Parkside tallied its second consecutive winning campaign in 2013, finishing the year with an 18-13 overall record and an 8-10 mark in GLVC play. The 2013 Rangers owned a 9-5 record inside DeSimone Gymnasium and secured a winning overall record for the second straight season under fourth year Head Coach
Christine Paciero. UW-Parkside additionally excelled in the classroom with the team winning the 2013-2014 GLVC Team Academic Award and the 2013-2014 American Volleyball Coaches Association Team Academic Award.
