The No. 19 Peacock volleyball team dropped a 3-1 match to Minnesota State University-Mankato, who received votes in the latest AVCA poll, on Tuesday evening in Fayette. The Mavericks outscored the home team by set scores of 25-22, 25-19, 18-25, and 25-18 to improve to 12-5 (5-4 NSIC) while the Peacocks moved to 12-5 (4-5 NSIC).
Minnesota State came into the match with lots of momentum having just swept two nationally-ranked teams over the weekend. The Mavericks took a tight win in set one before hitting .407 in the second frame to go up 2-0 in the match. Upper Iowa then battled back with a third set victory highlighted by a 8-1 run to close things out after the frame was tied at 17-all. In the fourth set, the Peacocks got into a deep hole early and were never able to recover.
TURNING POINT... It seemed as though Upper Iowa was finally going to get something going when the Peacocks finished the third set with a nice 8-1 run, however the hope of a comeback was short-lived as Minnesota State got right back into its rhythm in the fourth set and jumped out to a 16-7 lead, the largest point differential of the night.
PEACOCKS OF THE GAME...
- Kaitlin Niedert hit .300 and led the team with 12 kills. The junior outside hitter also had a pair of blocks.
- Sarah Johnson swung at a team-best .318 clip, knocking down 10 kills with three errors in 22 attempts, and added three blocks, two digs and an ace.Â
STAT OF THE GAME...
- Upper Iowa struggled on both ends of the serve. The Peacocks finished the game with 10 service errors on their end, and allowed the Mavericks to score nine points via ace.
UP NEXT... The Peacocks hit the road to face Minnesota State University Moorhead and No. 6 Northern State University on Oct. 18-19. Friday's match against the Dragons is set for 6 p.m. in Moorhead, Minn., while Saturday's game will start at 3 p.m. in Aberdeen, S.D.Â
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