THIS WEEKEND IN PEACOCK VOLLEYBALL… Upper Iowa will look to stay undefeated in the non-conference season when the Peacocks travel to Kenosha, Wis. to participate in the UW-Parkside Hampton Inn Invitational hosted by the University of Wisconsin-Parkside on Sept. 13-14. UIU will start the weekend against Purdue University-Northwest and UW-Parkside on Friday at 12:30 p.m. and 7:15 p.m., respectively. The Peacocks will then take the floor against McKendree University on Saturday at 10:15 a.m. before their final match of the weekend against Quincy University at 2:45 p.m. Live stats and webcasts will be available all week through the links above or at UIUPeacocks.com/Live.

AVCA TOP 25 POLL… Upper Iowa's volleyball team is receiving votes in the AVCA Division II Coaches Top 25 this week for the first time since Sept. 4 of last season when the Peacocks claimed their 14^th straight appearance in the poll dating back to the historic 2017 season. UIU received 59 votes to be in the Top 25, joining nine other Northern Sun Conference schools in the rankings or receiving votes.

NON-CONFERENCE SUCCESS… Upper Iowa is coming off a perfect 4-0 weekend at the Keweenaw Classic highlighted by a thrilling five-set victory over Michigan Technological University who was receiving votes in the preseason AVCA poll and is now ranked No. 21. With the four wins, the Peacocks have posted an impressive 20-1 non-conference record over the last three seasons with the only lost being against Ferris State University, who was ranked No. 21 at the time.

NET THREAT… Senior Anna Winter, one of this week's NSIC Top Performers, was selected to the Keweenaw Classic all-tournament team and crowned Tournament MVP following her stand-out performance over the weekend. The Rochester, Minn. product led the tournament with 4.80 kills per set and had the highest hitting percentage (.317) among attackers with over 100 attempts. Her 72 kills were the most by any NSIC attacker last weekend and 3^rd-most in all of NCAA Division II, while her kills per set average was just .06 away from the best in the conference and ranked sixth highest in NCAA Division II. Winter has knocked down 952 kills in her career at UIU and can become just the fifth Peacock in the Division II era to reach 1,000 kills with just 48 more. She is currently on a 17-game streak with double-digit kills dating back to Sept. 29 of last season and already has two games with 20+ kills this season.

DIGGIN' IT… Senior Haley Weepie was another one of this week's NSIC Top Performers after pacing the Peacocks with 82 digs (3^rd in NSIC, 26^th in NCAA D-II) over the weekend. The libero averaged over seven digs per set against Michigan Tech to tie her career-high of 36 digs, and is averaging 5.47 digs per set (3^rd in NSIC, 33^rd in NCAA D-II) this season. Weepie is also nearing a career milestone of 1,000 digs in Peacock blue. She has accumulated 988 career digs to date and needs just a dozen more to join the elite club.

SETTING THE ATTACK… Senior Carlee Ketchum paced the Upper Iowa offense to a .295 hitting percentage while averaging 10.53 assists per set at the Keweenaw Classic. The Manchester, Iowa native dished out 158 assists on the weekend including a career-high 55 against Michigan Tech. Ketchum also led the team with seven aces and added 30 digs, 10 kills, and eight blocks.

ON THE HORIZON… Upper Iowa will open up NSIC play on the road against the University of Minnesota Duluth and St. Cloud State University on Sept. 20-21. The Peacocks will then return to Fayette to play in Dorman Gymnasium for the first time this season against the University of Minnesota Crookston and Bemidji State University on Sept. 27-28.