Tonight in Peacock Volleyball... A matchup of AVCA Top 25 teams will be played in Winona, Minn. on Halloween night when No. 25 Upper Iowa takes on No. 15 Winona State University. The Peacocks are one spot behind the Warriors in the NSIC standings going into the final five matches of the regular season. Winona State is 10-5 in the NSIC and sits in fifth place, while Upper Iowa is 9-6 and is tied for sixth place with No. 16 Augustana University.
Cracking into the AVCA Top 25... The American Volleyball Coaches Association, or AVCA, released their weekly NCAA Division II Coaches Top 25 Poll Monday afternoon and Upper Iowa cracked into the rankings for the first time in program history. The Peacocks have received votes in the poll for the last seven weeks, but a five-set win at No. 20 Wayne State and a five-set loss at No. 15 Augustana earned UIU a spot in the rankings at No. 25. The Peacocks are one of eight teams from the Northern Sun Conference in the top 25, while the University of Sioux Falls, who the Peacocks swept in Fayette, is still receiving votes. Concordia University, St. Paul sits atop the rankings, while Southwest Minnesota State University is ranked second. Northern State University is seventh, the University of Minnesota Duluth is ninth, Winona State University is fifteenth, Augustana is sixteenth and Wayne State is now twenty-second in the poll. Upper Iowa's six losses this season have all come at the hands of the teams ranked No. 1, 2, 7, 9, 15 and 16. The team is 3-6 against teams listed in the AVCA Top 25 or receiving votes and 15-0 against the remainder of their schedule.
Witness to History... Upper Iowa's 18 wins in 2017 set a new high mark for wins for the program since the Iowa Conference began sponsoring the sport 36 years ago; the team had reached 16 wins twice. The first time was in 2009 under the direction of Head Coach Shari Robertson when the Peacocks posted a 16-18 mark. More recently, Head Coach
Aaron Nelson guided the Peacocks to a 16-13 record in 2012, which followed a 15-15 season in 2011. The Iowa Conference began sponsoring volleyball as a women's sport beginning with the 1982 season and Upper Iowa posted a 2-32 record in their first year. Prior to the 2005 season, when UIU competed as an NCAA DII Independent, the program only registered a double-digit win total four times over a 23-season span.
Last Time with the Warriors... Upper Iowa claimed the first set of their match with the No. 9 Warriors of Winona State when the two teams met in Fayette early in the season. Unfortunately, the Warriors bounced back to win the next three and claim a 3-1 victory. Both teams struggled to put the ball away on the night as hitting percentages were below .200 for the match, but WSU pushed through thanks to a pair of subs that provided the spark. The Peacocks had their best hitting set to open the match winning 25-18 behind a .240 percentage.
Anna Winter and
Haley Weepie combined for 9 kills in the first set as Upper Iowa used a 4-0 run midway through the frame to extend their lead to 16-11. The home maintained their cushion to the end of the set winning 25-18. Late in the second period, the Peacocks trailed 18-16, but Winona State ran away down the stretch scoring seven of the final nine points to win 25-18. UIU hit .241 in the set, but couldn't match Winona State's .324 percentage and 17 kills. The change for the Warriors came in large part to the insertion of Bre Maloney as the primary setter and Maria Fruechte as a hitter on the outside. UIU came out of the intermission and took the first three points of the third set, but a 7-0 run by the Warriors turned a one-point Peacock lead into a six-point hole. UIU never recovered in the frame and dropped a 25-17 decision to fall behind 2-1 in the match. The two teams went point-for-point to open the fourth set and were tied at 7-7, but another WSU run, 7-2 this time, pushed the visitors out to a 14-9 lead. The Peacocks were able to close the gap back to three, 19-16, but a Maria Wrage's 14th kill of the match ended a long rally and gave the Warriors a four-point edge. Fruechte ended the match with a kill on an assist from Maloney. Wrage led the Warriors with 14 kills, while Fruechte knocked down 13 in her three sets. Jordan Runge added 11 and Danielle Rampart chipped in 10. Maloney handed out 40 assists and got her hands on 15 digs, while Becca Pagel picked up 30 digs and Rampart got to 19. Winter recorded 9 kills for UIU, while Weepie and
Bethany Lovhaug each posted 8 kills.
Malissa LeClaire picked up 20 assists and
Carlee Ketchum had 15.
Ashley Larson led the back line with 20 digs, while LeClaire added 15.
Looking Ahead... After the Peacocks return from Winona, the team will turn around for a pair of home matches this coming weekend, Nov. 3-4. Upper Iowa hosts the University of Mary and Minot State University in Dorman Gym; Friday's match begins at 6 p.m., while Saturday's match will follow the UIU football game and begin at 4 p.m. Saturday will be Senior Day for both the Peacock football and volleyball teams.
