The Peacock volleyball team registered a pair of wins on day two of the Wildcat Open hosted by Northern Michigan on Saturday in Marquette, Mich.  Upper Iowa swept Fort Hays State in a morning match and then battled the host Wildcats to a fifth set, where UIU prevailed to improve to 3-1 on the season.  

Jennifer Mundt led the attack with 32 kills on the day, while Kelsey Hinrichs added 21 and Bethany Lovhaug accounted for 11 in the middle.  Jenna Hermsen set up the offense with 75 assists.  Taylor Williams continued to pace the back line defense with 33 digs, while Hinrichs added 21 and Hermsen chipped in 19.

UIU did not have an easy sweep in their first match of the day versus Fort Hays State.  The Tigers matched UIU through much of each set, but the Peacocks picked up wins by two points in the first set, three in the second and six by the final set.  Offensively, Upper Iowa's best set came in the second when they hit .316 with 17 kills and only 5 errors, while the defenses' best effort came in the third and final set holding Fort Hays State to just a .028 average.

The Peacocks lined up with the host Wildcats of Northern Michigan in their final match of the weekend and went the distance.  Upper Iowa dropped the first set after a meager .050 hitting percentage, but bounced back to grind out a 25-21 win in set two and tie the match.  UIU's hitting disappeared again in the third set but the team kept scraping falling by a 26-24 count.  

Trailing two sets to one, Upper Iowa dominated the fourth set 25-12 after posting just one attack error and forcing their opponents into 11.  In the final set, neither offense found a rhythm, but UIU rallied from an early 6-3 deficit to take an 11-8 lead thanks to points on eight of ten serves.  Leading 14-12, the Peacocks returned serve and ended the match on the right hand of Lovhaug who registered the final kill.

With the wins on Saturday, the Peacocks are now 6-2 over the last two years when playing in the state of Michigan.

"Today we found two very different ways to win," said Head Coach Aaron Nelson following the matches.  "Against Fort Hays State we got our offense rolling and did a great job of disrupting their system with our block and defense. In the afternoon match, we started off very slowly on NMU's home floor. I'm happy we were able to settle down and play our game. We forced them into making a few errors and took advantage of the opportunities we had. We're proud of how we fought against a very good team on the road. It was a great way to set the tone for the season and we can't wait to be back home all this week."

The Peacock volleyball team does have a busy week at home with five matches beginning on Tuesday night.  Upper Iowa will host Waldorf College at 7 p.m. on Tuesday and then open play in the Peacock Open on Thursday night against Michigan Technological University, whom they dropped a tight, three-set decision to on Friday.  This coming Friday night, the team will line up against Northern Michigan in another rematch, before taking on Minot State University and St. Cloud State University in a pair of non-conference matches with their fellow-NSIC members on Saturday.  

The matches versus Michigan Tech, Northern Michigan and St. Cloud State are all scheduled to be broadcast live on KCRG 9.2.