LIVE OPTIONS:Live Webcast || Live Stats at Winona State || Live Stats vs Bemidji State and Minnesota Crookston
THIS WEEK IN PEACOCK VOLLEYBALL… Upper Iowa is currently in the midst of their second-longest win streak of the season. The Peacocks have won three straight matches and four of their last five to improve to 11-9 overall and 5-6 in the Northern Sun Conference. The team won four straight earlier in the season. UIU will head to Winona State University on Tuesday night for a midweek match against the #25 Warriors before returning home to Fayette to host Bemidji State University and the University of Minnesota Crookston on Friday and Saturday. Upper Iowa upset then-#22 Winona State in Fayette on Sept. 22, but the team has not faced the Beavers or Golden Eagles yet this season.
DIG PINK NIGHT… UIU volleyball will be celebrating Dig Pink Night on Friday, Oct. 23. The program is asking fans to wear pink to the game in support of their efforts to raise money for Breast Cancer research. A bake sale, temporary tattoos and free will donations are all part of the plans for the night.
HANDS ON TRAINING… Senior
Taylor Williams earned the Northern Sun Conference's Defensive Player of the Week award on Monday after leading NSIC with a 7.8 digs/set average last weekend. The Peacock libero totaled 47 digs during Upper Iowa's road sweeps of U-Mary and Minot State. Her high tally came on Friday night at U-Mary when she got her hands on 25 balls on the back line. Her 348 digs this season rank third in the conference, while her 4.7 digs/set is the sixth best average among NSIC defenders.
CREAM OF THE CROP… The NCAA Regional Tournament only has room for the top 8 teams across three different conferences; there will definitely be some heartbroken teams when the selection committee reveals the chosen few. The Northern Sun continues to prove its merit as the top volleyball conference in all of NCAA Division II. The conference currently has seven teams in the AVCA's Top 25 Poll. Included in the AVCA's NCAA Division II Top-25 is #2 Northern State, #4 Concordia St. Paul, #5 Southwest Minnesota State, #2 Northern State, #6(t) Wayne State College, #8 Minnesota Duluth, #21 Augustana University, #25 Winona State University and Minnesota State University, Mankato is receiving votes. UIU posted an upset of #25 (then #22) Winona State for their first win of the 2015 NSIC campaign.
FINISH STRONG… Senior hitter
Jennifer Mundt is on pace to reach her record mark for kills in a season again this year. In 2014, the Utica, Minn. product knocked down 439 kills to set the new record. Mundt has 314 kills this season which leads all hitters in the Northern Sun; her per set average of 4.3 kills is tied for top marks in the conference. Over her four-year career, Mundt has recorded 1,373 kills as she keeps pushing the new career record away from her predecessors.
LAST WEEK FOR THE PEACOCKS… Upper Iowa won all six of their sets last weekend with a pair of sweeps over U-Mary and Minot State… The Peacocks held their opponents to a .075 hitting percentage… Mundt and
Kelsey Hinrichs led the offense with 26 (4.3/set) and 20 (3.3/set) kills...
Lauren Wombles (6 blocks) averaged one block/set at the net while adding 13 kills
NOTES ON THIS WEEK'S OPPONENTS… #25 WINONA STATE…
WSU swept a pair of 3-0 matches at Minot State and U-Mary last weekend… Danielle Rampart had a match-high 13 kills with 12 digs and hit .345 against the Beavers… Freshman Maria Wrage led with a career-high 10 kills and hit .615 against the Marauders
| BEMIDJI STATE…
The Beavers went 0-2 over the weekend with losses against Sioux Falls and #4 SMSU… Junior Amanda Tronick led BSU with 15 kills over the weekend… Senior Kayla DeJong now ranks 7th on BSU's all-time career digs list with 1,234… The Beavers will play a mid-week match against Minnesota Crookston before traveling to Upper Iowa and Winona State
| MINNESOTA CROOKSTON…
UMC fell 3-0 to #4 Southwest Minnesota State and 3-1 to Sioux Falls on the weekend… Maggie Perrel led the team with six kills against SMSU and 12 against Sioux Falls… Kassi Green had her best game of the season against SMSU with nine kills and a .269 hitting percentage… The Golden Eagles have lost four-straight and will look to get back on track on the road against Winona State and Upper Iowa |
THIS WEEK'S LEADERS… | Upper Iowa | #25 Winona State | Bemidji State | Minnesota Crookston |
| Kills | Jennifer Mundt – 314 | Taylor Goar – 222 | Amanda Tronick – 209 | Maggie Perrel – 207 |
| Assists | Jenna Hermsen – 465 | McKenna Larsen - 656 | Ashley Kiecker – 442 | Sierra Trost – 679 |
| Blocks | Lauren Wombles – 34 | Lauren Kudronowicz - 48 | Kori Leist – 48 | Kelci Green – 82 |
| Digs | Taylor Williams – 348 | Jamie Cairncross – 270 | Kayla DeJong – 291 | Stephanie Pearson – 235 |
| Aces | Ashley Larson - 17 | Taylor Goar – 19 | Jessica Yost – 24 | Kaycie Hagen - 26 |
