Upper Iowa hosted the No. 9 Mustangs of Southwest Minnesota State University on Friday night in Dorman Gym in classic Northern Sun Conference battle that came down to the final two points of the night. After a forgettable first two sets for UIU, a slight twist to the lineup on the floor sparked the home team's offense and produced big wins in the third and fourth sets. SMSU won the final set by two points to claim the win.
While the Mustangs improve to 20-7 overall and 15-4 in the NSIC, the Peacocks fell to 17-10 overall and 10-9 in the conference. Upper Iowa is locked in a four-way tie for seventh place now with Winona State University, Minnesota State University, Mankato and St. Cloud State University.
Southwest Minnesota State, led by the NSIC Player of the Year Taylor Reiss, dominated the first two sets hitting .326 and .273 and knocking down 32 kills in the two frames. Upper Iowa only converted 15 kills in the first two sets and hit .024 and .000. SMSU won the first two sets by scores of 25-13 and 25-16.
To open the third set, Head Coach
Aaron Nelson adjusted his lineup to add more offense together on the floor at the same time including three hitters with a middle. The change put pressure on the Mustang defense and slowed their attack. Upper Iowa posted wins in the third and fourth sets by scores of 25-18 and 25-19 thanks in large part to their inspired offense. UIU recorded 29 kills in the two frames and hitting percentages of .275 and .227. The Peacock defense came up with some huge digs and blocks in the sets to keep momentum on their side.
In the fifth set, the Mustangs jumped out to an early 4-1 lead, but Upper Iowa rallied to tie the score at 4-4. The two teams went back and forth with one team never getting more than one point away from each other. After SMSU took a 13-12 lead on a pair of Reiss kills, the Peacocks got a huge block on Reiss by
Bethany Lovhaug and
Haley Poula to tie the score at 13-13.
Anna Winter went back to serve and forced a near overpass, but SMSU setter Emma Thomssen beat UIU to the ball and scored a kill. The deciding point came on a Reiss kill that snuffed out the Peacock upset bid.
Winter racked up 19 kills in the match and added 2 aces and 6 digs.
Lauren Wombles added 12 kills and
Kaitlin Niedert chipped in 11 kills.
Malissa LeClaire handed out 41 assists and also added 15 digs.
Haley Weepie picked up 24 digs to lead the defense. At the net, Lovhaug came up with 7 blocks, while Poula had 5 and Niedert recorded 4 including 3 solo denials.
Reiss finished the match with a game-high 23 kills and also notched 23 digs. Angela Young added 15 kills, while Thomssen registered 58 assists on the night. Kaylee Burmeister paced the Mustang defense with 34 digs.
Upper Iowa will take on the Cougars of the University of Sioux Falls on Saturday at 4 p.m. in the teams' final regular season match. The Peacocks will recognize and honor their five seniors prior to the match on Saturday.
