THIS WEEKEND IN PEACOCK VOLLEYBALL… The 22^nd-ranked Peacock volleyball team is continuing their tough stretch of matches against NSIC opponents either ranked or receiving votes in the American Volleyball Coaches Association Top-25 poll. Upper Iowa will take the floor at No. 6 Concordia University-St. Paul on Saturday night at 5 p.m. before a Monday night showdown at (RV) Minnesota State University-Mankato beginning at 6 p.m. The Peacocks are currently on a three-game winning streak and are tied for 7^th place in conference standings.

HALLOWEEN NIGHT IN DORMAN… Upper Iowa lined up against No. 16 Winona State University for a Halloween night matchup in Fayette. The Peacocks clinched a tight 29-27 victory in the first frame and then went on to post 25-19 and 25-22 scores in the following sets for their third sweep in a row and second victory over a Top-25 opponent this season. UIU hit .316 during the match with 49 kills (16.3/set) and 13 errors in 114 swings, while WSU swung at a .259 clip with 45 kills and 15 errors in 116 attempts. Anna Winter led the way with a game-high 17 kills (5.7/set), committing just one error in 39 swings (.410). Winter also contributed three of the Peacocks' nine aces as well as five digs and two blocks. Haley Weepie led all defenders with 18 digs (6.0/set) to go with two assists and ace, Carlee Ketchum dished out a game-high 42 assists (14.0/set) and served up three aces, and Claire Milnes tallied a game-high three blocks (1 solo) while hitting a team-best .556 with six kills and one error in nine attempts.

NSIC TOURNAMENT WATCH… With Thursday's sweep and other results around the conference, Upper Iowa climbed into a four-way tie for 7^th place in NSIC standings. The Peacocks are tied with (RV) Minnesota State, Augustana University, and No. 15 Southwest Minnesota State University at 8-6 in the conference, just one game behind No. 16 Winona State and No. 12 Wayne State College who have both gone 9-5 against NSIC opponents.

SCOUTING THE GOLDEN BEARS… Concordia-St. Paul (17-4, 11-2 NSIC) enters the weekend on a five-game winning streak with all but one of those victories coming via sweep. The Golden Bears rank 8^th in both hitting percentage (.252) and opponent hitting percentage (.186), and are in the top-5 with 14.36 kills/set (5^th), 13.56 assists/set (4^th), 2.04 blocks/set (3^rd), and 1.60 aces/set (5^th). CSP averages 15.37 digs per set to rank ninth. The Golden Bears are led offensively by Jasmine Mulvihill with 3.83 kills per set and Erin Fallert with 3.02 per set. Tori Hanson averages 4.45 digs and .04 aces per set to lead the team in both categories, while Payton Nutter paces the attack with 9.14 assists per set.

SCOUTING THE MAVERICKS… Minnesota State (15-6, 8-6 NSIC) suffered a 3-0 loss to the Golden Bears on Thursday night but have won six of their last eight matches, including a 3-1 victory over the Peacocks on Oct. 15. The Mavericks rank 4^th in the NSIC with a .262 hitting percentage and average 13.55 kills, 12.64 assists, 14.13 digs, 1.76 blocks, and 1.38 aces per set. MSU is led by Morgan Olson who leads the NSIC with 4.65 kills per set, just .1 higher than UIU's Anna Winter. Olson has hit .337 this season and led the Mavericks with 19 kills against the Peacocks earlier this season. Defensively, Mara Quam averages 4.37 digs per set and Anissa Janzig averages .94 blocks per set to lead the team. MSU's primary setter is Dana Schindler who is averaging 9.76 assists per set.

UP NEXT… The Peacocks will stay on the road to face University of Minnesota Crookston and Bemidji State University on Nov. 8-9. Upper Iowa earned a pair of sweeps against the teams back on Sept. 27-28 in Fayette.