For the second straight Saturday, the Peacock volleyball team rallied from a two-set deficit to claim a Northern Sun Conference victory at home. Upper Iowa battled through a pair of rough sets to open the match, but after the break, UIU began to find their stride. The home team forced Minnesota State University Moorhead into 10 errors in the third set, dominated the fourth set and controlled the fifth and final set to complete the comeback and improve to 9-9 overall and 3-6 in the NSIC. The Dragons fell to 11-6 overall and 4-5 in the conference.
After forgettable sets prior to the break in which the Dragons won by scores of 25-11 and 25-19, Upper Iowa's offense began to get a foothold in the third set thanks in large part to better passing and strong defense. After MSU Moorhead combined for 28 kills and just 4 attack errors in the first two sets, but the Peacocks forced their guests into 19 attack errors in the third and fourth sets.
While UIU's defense picked it up, the offense's hitting percentage improved in each set. After percentages of .054 and .125 in the first two frames thanks to a combined 22 kills and 14 errors, Upper Iowa limited their mistakes and picked up their kill tally. In the final three sets, UIU combined for 40 kills and just 10 errors while hitting .229, .297 and .579 in succession.
"It was a great comeback by the entire team today," said Head Coach
Aaron Nelson. "MSU Moorhead started well and we just couldn't get ourselves going. We turned it around after the break and played just well enough to take the third. Then we played some of our best ball of the year in the final two sets. It was nice to work so hard and earn an important win against a good team."
Jennifer Mundt led the offense with 23 kills including 17 in the final three sets.
Kelsey Hinrichs added 15 kills and a team-high 17 digs, while
Sarah Frisch and
Bethany Lovhaug each registered 7 kills.
Jenna Hermsen and
Malissa LeClaire paced the attack with 26 and 25 assists, respectively.
Taylor Williams and
Ashley Larson held down the back line defense with Hinrichs posting 15 and 14 digs.
The Peacocks will be on the road next Friday and Saturday, Oct. 16-17, at the University of Mary and Minot State University.
