This Weekend in Peacock Volleyball... Upper Iowa is on their longest road trip of the season after splitting four home matches with wins over Minnesota State University, Mankato and Minnesota State University Moorhead and a pair of four-set losses to #9 Winona State University and #19 Northern State University. The Peacocks will face the Beavers of Minot State University on Friday at 5:30 p.m. in Minot, N.D. and then face a quick turnaround to hit the court against the Marauders of the University of Mary on Saturday morning at 9 a.m. in Bismarck, N.D. UIU enters the weekend with an 11-3 overall record and a 2-3 mark in the Northern Sun; the team has received votes in the last three AVCA Top 25 Coaches Poll. Minot State is 3-10 overall and 0-5 in the conference, while UMary is 5-9 for the year and 1-4 in the NSIC. The Marauders' win came over Minot State.

Checking the Rearview... UIU swept the Dragons of MSU Moorhead in between a pair of four-set losses to nationally-ranked opponents in Dorman Gym last week. The Peacocks limited their opponents to a .189 hitting percentage for the week, but only managed a .169 percentage themselves. Upper Iowa averaged 10.8 kills and 19.8 digs per set while winning 5 of the 11 sets played. The Peacocks claimed the first set in all three matches; 25-18 over the #9 Warriors, 25-11 over the Dragons and 25-23 over the #19 Wolves. Anna Winter put down 33 kills in the three matches averaging 3 kills/set, while five other Peacocks averaged between 11 and 17 kills for the week. Malissa LeClaire had 75 assists (6.8/set) and Carlee Ketchum and Ashley Larson added 15 and 12, respectively. Defensively, LeClaire led the team in digs with 52 (4.7/set) and Larson followed closely with 48 (4.4/set). Bethany Lovhaug played big at the net denying 15 attacks at the net. Her 2 solo blocks and 13 assisted stops averaged 1.4/set.

Good Defense Leads to Good Offense... The Peacocks are the NSIC leaders in two categories that are related. Upper Iowa is getting their hands on 19.6 digs/set, which is the 14th best average in all of NCAA Division II and tops among all conference members. As a result, the Peacocks are keeping the ball in play and gaining more opportunities to score. Upper Iowa is also averaging 39.9 attacks/set, which is the 11th highest average in the country and best mark compared to other Northern Sun teams.

Peacock Leaders... Junior Malissa LeClaire is setting up the Peacock attack with 8.7 assists/set and is a major piece of UIU's defense notching 3.8 digs/set (11th NSIC). In addition to her offense and defense, LeClaire is adding points for the Peacocks from the service line with 22 aces (40th NCAA/2nd NSIC) on the season. Sophomore Anna Winter leads the offense with 168 kills (8th NSIC), while fellow sophomores Haley Weepie (130 kills, 147 digs) and Haley Poula (105 kills, 28 blocks) are also a big part of the attack. A pair of junior middles round out UIU's attack; Bethany Lovhaug has put down 90 kills, but also makes her presence felt at the net with 1.02 blocks/set (5th NSIC). Lauren Wombles has 82 kills on the season and chips in .48 blocks/set. Senior Ashley Larson spearheads the back line defense from her libero position. Larson has 250 digs this season (5.0/set), which is the 4th best average in the conference. Sophomore Gabby Holmes and senior Madie Meier have contributed 114 and 70 digs, respectively, in their time on the back line.

Scouting the Beavers... Sophomore Shelby Spuller leads the Minot State offense with 3.78 kills per set, ranking sixth in the NSIC. Spuller is followed by a balanced attack from Emily Falldorf, Jeanne Brenner and Brileigh Boyce. Falldorf is posting 1.87 kills per set while Brenner and Boyce are recording 1.85 and 1.73 kills per set, respectively.  Junior Kelsey Dewulf paces the Minot State offense with 9.22 assists per set, ranking eighth in the NSIC. Falldorf has notched a team-high 37 blocks this season, followed by Hayley Swain's 34 blocks. Karli Koza and Mekayla Gurley lead the defense with 223 and 120 digs apiece.

Scouting the Marauders... Headlining the Marauders efforts is senior Lauren Randall. The outside hitter registered 26 kills against Minot State and added 17 kills and a .366 attack percentage against #2 Concordia-St. Paul. Randall leads the NSIC in kills/set with 4.64 and is one of only two players in the conference averaging more than 4.00. She has the top two marks in the conference for most kills in a game (29 and 28) and three of the top six. Amanda Lopes is the other Marauder among the NSIC statistical leaders. The junior transfer from Seward County Community College averages 9.21 assists/set (9th NSIC). Her top effort of the year came against Lake Superior State with 58 assists, 12 digs and 5 aces. The back row is led by a pair of defensive specialists. Junior Geovana Almeida averages a team-best 3.10 digs/set, while freshman Jody Heidel is close behind at 2.78.