Box Score Upper Iowa made their second straight appearance in the NSIC Championship on Tuesday night in Duluth, Minn. The Peacocks lined up against the No. 4 Bulldogs of the University of Minnesota Duluth. The teams split the first two sets and UMD edged out UIU by two points in the third set and then closed out their guests in the fourth set. After the loss, Upper Iowa's season comes to a close with a record of 18-11. UMD improves to 25-5 overall and will continue to play in the semifinals. 

The home team held the Peacocks to just 7 kills in the opening frame, while hitting .350 on offense to post a 25-11 win in the first set. Upper Iowa bounced back with a 25-23 win in set two thanks to an impressive offensive output. UIU hit .231 with 11 kills and only one attack error and forced the bulldogs into 10 hitting errors to even the match at one set apiece.

Upper Iowa's defense continued to thrive in the third set pushing the Bulldogs into 9 more attack errors, while limiting their own errors to 4. UIU trailed 23-20 late in the set, but pulled within one 24-23 before surrendering the final point on a block error at the net. In the fourth set, the home team jumped out to an early lead, but Upper Iowa was able to erase the 7-1 deficit and pull within one, 11-10, fueled by three kills from Lauren Wombles. The Bulldogs rebuilt their seven point lead, 19-12, but Upper Iowa had one final charge in them. The Peacocks got within three, 20-17, but UMD closed out the match with a 25-19 win.

Wombles led the Peacocks with 12 kills, while Anna Winter posted 11 and Kaitlin Niedert added 10. Malissa LeClaire handed out 35 assists and added 16 digs. Haley Weepie led the defense with 24 digs. UIU was solid at the net led by Bethany Lovhaug's 6 blocks, while Wombles and Haley Poula each added 5 blocks.