This Weekend in Peacock Volleyball... Upper Iowa hosts a pair of Northern Sun Conference matches this weekend in Dorman Gym. The Peacocks will line up against the No. 2 Wolves of Northern State University on Friday and then take on the Dragons of Minnesota State University Moorhead on Saturday afternoon. Upper Iowa enters the weekend on a three-match, nine-set win streak after sweeping Augustana University at home and then adding straight set wins on the road at the University of Mary and Minot State University. Live stats and webcasts will be available all weekend through the links at UIUPeacocks.com/Live. Both matches will also be broadcasted live on KCRG-TV 9.2 and streamed live on the Stretch Internet App for fans with Roku, Amazon Fire, Apple or Android televisions.
 
Sweeps Week... Upper Iowa is currently on a three-match, nine-set win streak and the Peacocks have been flying high. UIU's hitters have been working at a .279 clip on offense with 111 kills during the streak. Although, the defense that the Peacocks have been putting together is even more impressive. Opponents are hitting just .016. Upper Iowa has averaged 16.3 digs/set and 2.3 blocks/set during the nine sets. Anna Winter (29), Kaitlyn Niedert (27) and Lauren Wombles (22) are leading the offense while Malissa LeClaire has been running the offense with 88 assists. Haley Weepie (33), Gabby Holmes (24), Madi Meier (21) and Kasey Brennan (17) have been working together to hold up on the back line and have combined for 95 digs. At the net, Bethany Lovhaug (10) and Wombles (9) are denying shots at a solid pace.

In the Rankings… Upper Iowa leads the NSIC in digs/set with 19.16 and is ranked 14th in the country. The extra digs have led to more opportunities for the offense and UIU is ranked 13th in the nation and leads the NSIC in attacks/set with 39.7. LeClaire is ranked second in the NSIC in aces/set at .48 and Haley Poula is ranked 6th in the conference at .41. Lovhaug is ranked 5th in the NSIC blocks with 1.1 per set, while Anna Winter is 8th in the Northern Sun in kills/set with 3.5. Weepie (8th) and Holmes (13th) are both in the top-15 in the NSIC for digs/set with 4.24 and 3.81, respectively.
 
Scouting the #2 Wolves… Northern State is hitting a national leading mark of .330 this season, while averaging 14.4 kills, 13.6 assists, 16.1 digs, 1.8 aces, and 1.8 blocks per set. Hailey Busch leads the team with 233 kills, averaging 4.02 per set, while hitting .313. Jenna Reiff and Morgan Baufield are leading the team hitting .438 and .410 respectively, while also grabbing 53 and 40 blocks apiece. Reiff is also leading the nation in hitting percentage this season, while Rozell sits third in assists per set and fourth in aces per set. Ashley Rozell has dished out 717 total assists, averaging 12.36 per set, while leading the team with 37 service aces. Jaiden Langlie leads the defensive front for the Wolves with 248 total digs, averaging 4.28 per set, followed by Rozell with 150 and Lexi Boesl with 144.
 
Scouting the Dragons… Senior libero Monica Vega has a career total of 1,645 digs after two matches last week. Vega currently ranks fourth all-time in career digs for MSUM. The senior ranks third in the conference in digs per set with 5.07. In NSIC play, several freshmen have stepped-up into major roles. Amanda Carlson increased her production since the start of conference play. She increased her kills per set average from 2.98 to 3.16 in conference action. Her hitting percentage also improved to .187 in NSIC play from her overall average of .177. The Dragons continue to out-block their opponents and hold a 2.2 to 1.6 blocks per set edge. The team has increased their productivity in conference play where they average 2.41 blocks per set and hold their opponents to a 1.56 b/s average. MSUM ranks fourth in the NSIC in blocks per set. Kylie Kanwischer averages 1.05 blocks per set to rank sixth in the NSIC, while Kaylyn Jenkins sits in eighth place with 1.02 blocks per set.