Box Score Upper Iowa got back on the winning track this weekend with a pair of road wins capped off by a four-set victory at the University of Mary on Saturday morning in Bismarck, N.D. The Peacocks relied on their defense to push through a tough Marauder team that was looking for the upset. With the wins this weekend, UIU is now 13-3 overall and 4-3 in the Northern Sun Conference.

The Peacocks hit .321 for the match including highs of .406 (3rd set), .381 (4th set) and .303 (1st set), but it wasn't until Upper Iowa put the focus on their defense that the team was able to get away from their hosts. After a pair of close sets that the teams split 25-21 in favor of UIU and 25-23 in UMary's direction, the Peacocks came out of intermission with a different intensity. Upper Iowa's defense limited the Marauders to just 9 kills in the set, while the offense converted 13 kills and no attack errors for a dominating 25-11 win and a 2-1 lead in the match. The score was tied early in the fourth set, but Upper Iowa broke free thanks to a big run for a 25-21 win. 

After the match, Head Coach Aaron Nelson said, "You have to give credit to UMary for coming out and playing very well this morning. We had to really come together as a team and fight hard today. Our blocking was very solid to start the match and was a spark plug for us as we got into the third and fourth sets. Our ball control and defense took over as the match wore on and we were able to close them out to finish off a great road trip."

Anna Winter posted a team-high 14 kills, while Haley Poula and Haley Weepie each added 9. But junior middle Bethany Lovhaug stepped up to put down 11 kills and block 12 Marauder attacks  Malissa LeClaire handed out 49 assists, while Weepie dug up 19 UMary attacks and Ashley Larson added 16 and Gabby Holmes chipped in 12.

Upper Iowa will continue their long road trip next weekend with a pair of NSIC matches at Bemidji State University on Oct. 6 and at the University of Minnesota Crookston on Oct. 7.  UIU will return home for a pair of matches on Oct. 13-14 against St. Cloud State and the #6 University of Minnesota Duluth.