THIS WEEKEND IN PEACOCK VOLLEYBALL... Upper Iowa is back in Fayette for their final weekend of the 2016 season. The Peacocks welcome the #2 Bulldogs of the University of Minnesota Duluth on Friday night for Parent's Night and then host the Huskies of St. Cloud State University on Saturday afternoon for Senior Day. Both matches will be carried live on KCRG TV 9.2 in eastern Iowa; a webcast and live stats will also be available.
TOP HEAVY RANKINGS... The Northern Sun Conference is tops in all of NCAA Division II when it comes to volleyball. There are currently seven NSIC members in the latest AVCA Coaches Top 25 Poll and six of the seven are in the top eight. The Northern Sun teams in the top 25 are #1 Concordia-St. Paul, #2 Minnesota Duluth, #4 Southwest Minnesota State, #6 Winona State, #7 Augustana, #8 Wayne State and #20 Northern State. Upper Iowa is currently 0-8 against AVCA Top-25 teams. While the Peacocks have struggled against the nation's best, the team is 12-7 in all other matches.
FAREWELL TOUR FOR FOUR... The Peacocks will say goodbye to four seniors following Saturday's match against St. Cloud State.
Chelsea Berry,
Kelsey Hinrichs,
Miranda LeJeune and
Alisha VanderWoude will all lace up their sneakers for one last weekend. The quartet will be recognized prior to Saturday's match with the Huskies.
LOOKING IN THE REARVIEW MIRROR… Upper Iowa split a pair of NSIC matches on the road with a four-set loss to UMC and a five-set victory over BSU last weekend. The split kept them in a tie for 11th place with Minnesota Crookston. UIU registered 115 kills with 6 players reaching double figures during the nine sets played.
Chelsea Berry led the offense with 28 kills (3.1/set) and a .270 hitting percentage, while
Kelsey Hinrichs added 19 kills and 22 digs, while
Alisha VanderWoude tallied 17 kills and 4 blocks.
Ashley Larson posted up on the backline and grabbed 52 digs (5.8/set), while
Bethany Lovhaug had another big week blocking at the net with 13 (1.4/set).
Malissa LeClaire and
Carlee Ketchum continued to share setting duties with 47 and 41 assists, respectively.
SCOUTING THE #2 BULLDOGS… UMD split a pair of matches last wekeend with a five-set loss to #1 Concordia-St. Paul and a four-set win over Minnesota State that moved the team's record to 15-3 in the NSIC. The team is now tied for second place in the conference standings. The Bulldogs lead the NSIC in blocks per set during conference play and have posted a 6-2 record against ranked teams this season. Last weekend, Sydnie Mauch picked up 10 blocks on the weekend and currently ranks second on the all-time UMD block list. Makenzie Morgen recorded her eighth double-double of the season against CSP, racked up 28 kills and 20 digs in two games. Taylor Wissbroecker has amassed double digit kills and digs in four of her previous six games. Emily Torve assisted 102 times while adding 12 digs and six kills. Seven Bulldogs were named to the All-NSIC team including Torve, the NSIC Freshman of the Year.
SCOUTING THE HUSKIES… St. Cloud State outhit Minnesota State .316 to .255 in final set of their match, but the Huskies fell in four to MSU despite knotting the score with their opponents 28 times. The team did not allow a service aces for Concordia-St. Paul while picking up four aces of their own. The Husky leaders last weekend included Nicole Miller, who had a career-high 15 kills versus MSU and tallied 26 kills, 5 aces, 1 block, and 19 digs in the two matches. Becca Gruber notched 22 kills and 5 blocks, while Shannon Klink added 19 kills, 2 blocks and 23 digs. Macy Weller added 13 kills and 4 blocks and Marissa Kline set up the offense with 76 assists, 7 kills and 16 digs.
