THIS WEEKEND IN PEACOCK VOLLEYBALL… Upper Iowa hits the road once again for a pair of tough NSIC matches against ranked opponents. The Peacocks will start the weekend in Marshall, Minn. with a 6 p.m. match against No. 8 Southwest Minnesota State University on Friday. The team will then make its way to Sioux Falls, S.D. to face the No. 19 University of Sioux Falls Cougars on Saturday afternoon at 4 p.m. Live stats and webcast are available at UIUPeacocks.com/Live for both matches, or fans can stream the games through the NSIC app on Roku and Amazon Fire devices as well as Apple and Android televisions.

REACHING NEW HEIGHTS… Upper Iowa continued to rise to the No. 22 spot in the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Division II Coaches Top-25 Poll released earlier this week. The Peacocks received over 200 votes for the first time as a program and reset their highest program ranking for the second week in a row after last week's No. 23 nod. Prior to that, Upper Iowa was among schools receiving votes in the first regular season poll and spent a week ranked No. 25 in the nation.

LAST WEEKEND IN FAYETTE… The Peacocks collected their 10^th win of the season this past weekend while evening their NSIC record at 2-2 with a pair of 3-0 sweeps against University of Minnesota Crookston and Bemidji State University. Upper Iowa hit .307 in front of the home crowd, including a season-high .362 mark on Saturday against BSU, while containing their opponents to a .075 mark. UIU averaged 14.67 kills/set, 13.0 assists/set, 16.83 digs/set, 1.5 blocks/set, and 1.33 aces/set compared to their opponents' 8.83 kills/set, 8.5 assists/set, 12.5 digs/set, 1.0 blocks/set, and 1.0 aces/set.

NSIC TOP PERFORMERS… Three Peacock seniors were named NSIC Top Performers following their weekend performances in Dorman Gymnasium. Outside hitter Anna Winter led the team with 4.5 kills per set, and tallied 27 kills with just two errors in 60 attempts for a .417 hitting efficiency. She hit a season-high .542 (13 kills, 0 errors) on Saturday to push her streak of matches with double-figure kills to 25 dating back to last season, and contributed six digs and a block as well. Carlee Ketchum paced the Peacock offense with 11.33 assists per set, and also recorded 13 digs, five kills (.308), two blocks and two aces. On the backline, Haley Weepie averaged 6.33 digs per set thanks to 19 digs in each match, and added five assists and a kill.

EFFICIENCY IS KEY… Upper Iowa has posted a hitting efficiency of .280 through the first twelve matches of the season, which ranks 7^th in NCAA Division II and 2^nd in the Northern Sun. In addition, UIU holds opponents to the second-lowest hitting percentage in the conference and 26^th-lowest in the nation. The Peacocks have hit over .200 in every match this season, including five over the .300 mark, while only two opponents have hit over .200 against UIU.

SCOUTING THE MUSTANGS… Southwest Minnesota State advanced to No. 8 in the latest AVCA poll after a thrilling five-set victory over then-ranked No. 8 Northern State and a sweep over Minnesota State University Moorhead on Saturday. The Mustangs are 10-2 overall and are one of two teams still undefeated in the Northern Sun with four wins. Angela Young leads the team offensively with 179 kills and a 3.98 kills per set average, while Payton Hjerleid paces the defense with 158 digs (3.51/set) and also leads the team with 17 service aces. Emma Thomssen and Alisa Bengen are the Mustang setters and have recorded 283 and 274 assists, respectively. Zoe Lier has posted 42 total blocks including 11 solo turnaways. SMSU averages 15.16 kills per set and hits .253 as a team.

SCOUTING THE COUGARS… Sioux Falls retained their No. 19 placement in the AVCA poll after sweeping MSU Moorhead in their home opener but suffering their first loss of the season to then-No. 8 Northern State in four sets last weekend. The Cougars are now 11-1 overall and 3-1 in the conference. Kasandra Springer averages 3.83 kills per set and an NSIC-leading 1.03 aces per set to lead the team in both categories, while Abby Feyereisen chips in 2.83 kills per set and also leads the team with 32 blocks (0.89/set). Allie Maloney handles most of the work on the backline with 4.15 digs per set, and Krista Goerger paces the offense with 10.42 assists per set. As a unit, Sioux Falls averages 13.34 kills per set with a .253 hitting efficiency.

UP NEXT… Upper Iowa returns to Fayette for a three-game home stand. The Peacocks will host (RV) Augustana University and No. 15 Wayne State College on Oct. 11-12 before playing their first Tuesday match of the year on Oct. 15 against Minnesota State University-Mankato.