Upper Iowa fell to No. 7 Northern State University in Aberdeen, S.D. on Friday night. The Wolves swept the Peacocks in three sets improving to 23-4 on the season and 16-3 in the Northern Sun. UIU is now 20-8 overall and 11-8 in the NSIC and drops to 3-8 against the AVCA Top 25 this season. After the loss, the Peacocks are in eighth place in the conference with one match remaining on the regular season schedule.
Haley Weepie led the way for the Peacock offense which registered 38 kills in their three sets. Weepie tallied 10 kills, while
Bethany Lovhaug added 9 and Anna Winter chipped in 8.
Ashley Larson held up on the back line recording 17 digs, while Malissa LeClarie paced the offense with 27 assists.
Lauren Wombles had a big night at the net getting her hands on 5 blocks.
The Wolves offense was on fire racking up 19 kills in the first set, 17 more in the second set and then closed out the match with 20 kills in the third.
In the first set, the Peacocks trailed 23-22 after three straight points capped off by a LeClaire service ace. Northern State ended the set on back-to-back kills from Hailey Busch to win 25-22. Upper Iowa was leading 20-19 after a Lovhaug kill, but the Wolves outscored the Peacocks six of the final seven points to set the final score 25-21. The home team jumped out to an early lead in the third set and cruised to a 25-15 victory and sweep of the Peacocks.
UIU will close out the regular season on Saturday at 4 p.m. with a match against the Dragons of Minnesota State University, Moorhead. After the match, the Peacocks destination for the NSIC Tournament Quarterfinals will be determined for next Wednesday.
