Upper Iowa celebrated Dig Pink Night in Dorman Gym with a large crowd on Friday.  The team welcomed the Beavers of Bemidji State University to Fayette for the Northern Sun Conference affair.  The Peacocks swept their guests in three sets to improve to 12-10 overall and 6-7 in the NSIC fueled by a strong hitting performance from their offense and solid defense from the back line.
 
The Peacock hit the ground running in the first set taking an early four-point advantage, 9-5, but the Beavers used a 4-0 run behind the serve of Amanda Tronick to climb back in and tie the match at 9-9.  Upper Iowa slowly pulled away and regained their four-point lead, 18-14, but the visitors mounted another rally and pulled within one point, 19-18.  In the end, five service errors proved to be too much to overcome for Bemidji State as the home team claimed a 25-22 win.  The Peacocks recorded 14 kills led by Jennifer Mundt and Lauren Wombles, who posted 5 and 4, respectively.
 
Upper Iowa turned to their middles on quick sets in the second frame to gain their advantage on their guests jumping out to a 6-2 lead.  UIU took their largest lead of the set at 17-12 after back-to-back kills off the right hand of Mundt.  In total, the home team earned 16 kills in the second set with five different Peacocks knocking one down.  Mundt led the way with 7, while Kelsey Hinrichs added 3.  
 
In the third set, the Peacocks once again had a quick start taking a 6-2 lead thanks to four kills by Mundt and a tag team block by Mundt and Wombles.  Bemidji State closed the gap to two, 12-10, but that was the closest the visitors would get the rest of the match.  Upper Iowa closed the match out scoring 13 of the next 16 points for a 25-13 win.  Kills by Hinrichs and Sarah Frisch put the final touches on the set and the match.  UIU forced their guests into a .029 hitting percentage in the final frame.
 
Mundt led UIU's attack all night with 19 kills and a .536 hitting percentage, while Wombles added 8 in the middle while hitting .400 and Hinrichs chipped in 7.  Jenna Hermsen and Malissa LeClaire paced the offense with 18 and 14 assists, respectively, while Taylor Williams got her hands dirty to pick up 14 digs, nearly averaging 5 per set.  Williams had plenty of help; Hinrichs posted 10 digs, while LeClaire and Ashley Larson each added 9.
 
Upper Iowa will face the Golden Eagles of the University of Minnesota Crookston on Saturday at 3 p.m.