THIS WEEKEND IN PEACOCK VOLLEYBALL... Upper Iowa will look to continue its hot stretch when they head out west this weekend to take on the No. 4 Mustangs of Southwest Minnesota State University and the University of Sioux Falls. The Peacocks take a three-match winning streak with them to Marshall, Minn. on Friday night at 7 p.m. and then will head to Sioux Falls, S.D. for a 2 p.m. match on Saturday. UIU has swept its last three opponents, defeating St. Cloud State on the road two weeks ago, and defeating Minnesota Crookston and Bemidji State in Fayettte last weekend. The Peacocks hit .243 as a team with 75 kills while holding the Golden Eagles and Beavers to a .097 percentage. Live stats and live video will be available for the weekend.
NSIC OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK... The Northern Sun Conference handed out their weekly awards and freshman hitter Haley Poula was named the NSIC Offensive Player of the Week. Poula led the Peacocks to a pair of home wins, and is Upper Iowa's first of the year. Poula paced the Peacock attack as Upper Iowa extended their winning streaks to three matches and nine straight sets. The right side hitter registered 24 kills and hit .476 in the two matches. Poula also led the team in blocks with 5 and added 4 digs in the two matches. During the current win streak, she has put down 31 kills and blocked 7 opponent attacks. For the season, the West Branch, Iowa product has recorded 92 kills and is hitting .242 in her 15 matches. She had been in double figures for kills once before this season with 12 against William Jewell College, but broke out for 11 against Minnesota Crookston and 13 versus Bemidji State.
GOOD HANDS TEAM… Ashley Larson is pacing the backline defense with 237 digs. After gaining experience last year as a defensive specialist, Larson has taken over libero duties this season and has been a spark for UIU's transition offense, averaging 4.16 digs per set. Senior Kelsey Hinrichs is second on the team in that categories, tallying 135 digs for the year, a 2.60 average per set. Freshman Carlee Ketchum and sophomore Malissa LeClaire have totaled 126 and 120 digs respectively.
SCOUTING THE #4 MUSTANGS… Southwest Minnesota State is currently on a season-high six match winning streak after wins against MSU Moorhead and No. 11 Northern State last weekend. SMSU hit .448 in the first set versus NSU on Friday to earn a 25-12 victory, and tied a season-high with 10 service aces versus the Wolves as well. Junior Megan Larson was named NSIC Setter of the Week on Monday after finishing the weekend with 85 assists, averaging an NSIC high 14.17 per set and also added 14 digs, six blocks and two kills. In the win over NSU, Larson had 46 assists, four digs and one service ace, while in the victory over MSUM, she dished out 39 assists, had 10 digs and recorded one block solo and five block assists.
SCOUTING THE COUGARS… Sioux Falls (10-5, 4-3 NSIC) stretched its winning streak to four with victories against MSU Moorhead and No. 11 Northern State last weekend. USF swept the Dragons behind 27 kills and 9 blocks from Lexi Scott and Jordan Calef. The Cougars then upset No. 11 NSU for the second time in three years, with Makenna Rockeman posting a career-best 21 kills as the Cougars hit .331 as a team in their victory. Rockeman's 21 kills were the third-most for kills in a four-set match in USF's D2 history. Lexi Scott had 25 kills at a 3.57 average with a team-high .419 attack percentage for the weekend, while Sydney Schaap dished out 85 assists, an average of 12.14 per set, to lead USF to a .325 attack percentage in two matches.
