The Peacock volleyball team faced off against the #2 Bulldogs of the University of Minnesota Duluth in Dorman Gym on Parents Night. Upper Iowa's players all were announced with their parents and delivered flowers into the crowd. The Bulldogs swept the Peacocks, but had to work for each point in claiming their three set victory (25-19, 25-19, 25-18). UMD improved to 24-3 overall and 16-3 in the NSIC, while UIU fell to 12-16 overall and 6-13 in the conference.
The nationally-ranked Bulldogs hit .308 for the match with 51 kills; the visitors were led by Makenzie Morgen's 18 kills (.318) and Taylor Wissbroecker's 17 kills (.556). Emily Torve paced the attack with 41 assists, while Erin Schindler held down the backline with 18 digs.
Upper Iowa held together throughout the match and played with energy from the outset. The Peacocks recorded 32 kills led by
Chelsea Berry's 8 knockdowns.
Kelsey Hinrichs,
Alisha VanderWoude and
Haley Poula all came away with 6 kills.
Malissa LeClaire and
Carlee Ketchum set up the offense with 18 and 14 assists, respectively, while
Ashley Larson picked up 17 digs and
Bethany Lovhaug denied 5 attacks at the net.
In the first set, UIU trailed by one, 11-10, when UMD took off on an 8-2 run to push their lead to seven points. The Peacocks closed the gap to five with a pair of Berry kills, but UMD claimed the 25-19 win on a Wissbroecker kill.
The Peacocks took an early lead in the second set with a 6-2 run giving the home team a 10-6 lead. The run was fueled by big plays from Lovhaug, who registered a block and a kill. The Bulldogs caught their hosts at 12-12 and 14-14 before moving out in front by three, 17-14, in front of a UIU timeout. A few points later, a Berry kill pulled UIU within one, 18-17, but UMD closed out the set by scoring 7 of the final 9 points to win 25-19.
The Bulldogs used an early 6-2 run to push out to a 10-6 advantage and didn't look back. Minnesota Duluth kept pushing their lead to its largest of the night at ten, 21-11. Upper Iowa thinned the margin to six, 23-17, but UMD closed out the set and match with a 25-18 win.
Upper Iowa will be back on Prochaska Court on Saturday afternoon at 3 p.m. for Senior Day. The Peacocks will welcome the Huskies of St. Cloud State University for the final match of the season.
