Box Score Upper Iowa's volleyball team took a run at #9 Winona State in Dorman Gym on Tuesday night. The Peacocks got one set and battled the nationally-ranked Warriors point-for-point on the night, but WSU escaped Fayette with a hard fought victory. Winona State improves to 11-1 overall and 2-1 in the NSIC while Upper Iowa falls back to .500 overall at 6-6 and 0-3 in the conference.
Both offenses struggled to find a rythym on the night. Upper Iowa hit .067 for the match due in large part to Winona State's 12 team blocks. Winona State didn't manage much better as the visitors hit .091. UIU's defense was led by libero
Ashley Larson, who had 23 digs, as well as
Kelsey Hinrichs (15) and a pair of freshman
Gabby Holmes (16) and
Carlee Ketchum (15).
Lauren Wombles was active at the net for UIU recording 4 blocks.
With the score knotted at 11-11 in the first set, the Warriors used a 6-1 run to pull away to a 17-12 advantage. The Peacocks launched an 8-0 run which was capped off by an
Alisha VanderWoude solo block in the middle. Winona State fought back forcing ties at 21-21 and 23-23. WSU scored the final two points of the set to claim the first win 25-23.
In the second set it was Upper Iowa's turn to run out to a lead and see if they could hold it. UIU broke a 10-10 tie with a quick 5-1 run fueled by three kills from VanderWoude. The Peacocks maintained their advantage throughout the set and scored the final three points on a pair of
Anna Winter kills around a
Malissa LeClaire ace to tie the match heading into intermission.
Upper Iowa fell behind 11-8, but managed to rally behind five kills from five different players to tie the score at 17-17. Unfortunately for Peacock fans, the Warriors closed the set on an 8-2 run to take a 2-1 advantage in the match.
The Peacocks came out strong in the fourth set taking a 9-6 lead highlighted by a pair of
Haley Poula kills, but once again the Warriors fought back with a 13-2 run that pulled them from behind by three to ahead by eight, 19-11. Taylor Goar and Danielle Rampart led the way for the visitors in the big run.
The home team used a 10-2 run of their own to climb back into a tie with their guests, 21-21. Sophomore
Lauren Wombles made her presence felt in the run with a kill and a pair of blocks. The rally likely took too much out of the Peacocks as the Warriors scored the final four points to take the set, 25-21, and the match, 3-1.
The Warriors were led by Goar with 15 kills and 18 digs, while Maria Wrage added 11 kills and 5 blocks and Rampart and Sophie Wilker added 8 kills apiece. McKenna Larsen dished out 44 assists on the night while Jamie Cairncross grabbed 29 digs and Rampart added 22.
Ketchum paced the UIU offense with 17 assists in the match, while LeClaire added 14 and 3 kills. VanderWoude tallied 10 kills and Poula and
Chelsea Berry knocked down 8 and 7, respectively.
Upper Iowa heads out on the road this weekend with a pair of NSIC matches in Minnesota. The Peacocks will line up against the #2 Bulldogs of the University of Minnesota Duluth on Friday at 7 p.m. and then take on the Huskies of St. Cloud State University on Saturday at 4 p.m.
