THIS WEEKEND IN PEACOCK VOLLEYBALL… Upper Iowa, who was ranked No. 25 in the latest AVCA Division II Coaches Top 25 Poll, is set to open up the 2019 conference schedule at No. 4 University of Minnesota Duluth and No. 19 St. Cloud State University this weekend. The Peacocks will take the floor against the Bulldogs on Fri. Sept. 20 at 6 p.m. and the Huskies on Sat. Sept. 21 with the first serve set for 2 p.m. Live stats and webcasts will be available all week through the links above or at UIUPeacocks.com/Live.

IN THE RANKINGS… Upper Iowa cracked into the AVCA Division II Coaches Top 25 rankings earlier this week for the second time in program history. The Peacocks were four spots away from the Top 25 just one week ago but four straight sweeps at the Hampton Inn Invitational hosted by UW-Parkside earned UIU the No. 25 spot in this week's rankings with 142 votes. Seven other Northern Sun Conference schools are recognized in the poll while two more sit just outside of the rankings.

ACCESS TO THE CLUB… A pair of Peacock seniors earned major career milestones last weekend at the Hampton Inn Invite. Libero Haley Weepie recorded her 1,000th career dig in UIU uniform on Friday, becoming the eighth player in program history to do so. In her career thus far, Weepie has registered 48 career games with double figure digs including 27 matches with 15+ and five with 30 or more. In addition, she has seven career games with double-digit digs and kills in the same match. Outside hitter Anna Winter hit her career milestone on Saturday by becoming just the fifth Peacock to surpass 1,000 career kills. Winter has notched 23 career games with 15+ kills including seven with 20 or more. She has hit .252 overall in career, and has hit .284 in games with at least 15 kills and .300 in her matches with 20+ kills.    

RECAPPING THE NON-CONFERENCE SEASON… Upper Iowa heads into the NSIC schedule with an unblemished record for the second time in the last three seasons thanks to eight non-conferences wins. The Peacocks started the season as the only squad to go undefeated at the Keweenaw Volleyball Classic and most recently were the only team to not drop a set at the Hampton Inn Invitational hosted by UW-Parkside. With the eight victories, Upper Iowa has won 27 of their last 28 non-conference matchups dating back to Sept. 10, 2016 with the only loss coming against No. 21 Ferris State University in 2018.

SCOUTING NO. 4 MINNESOTA DULUTH… The Bulldogs went 7-1 against their non-conference opponents with all seven of their wins coming via a 3-0 sweep and their only loss being to No. 2 California State University, San Bernardino. UMD is averaging 15.52 kills per set (3^rd in NSIC) led by Kate Berg and Meredith Sutton who power down 4.36 and 3.08 kills per set, respectively. The Bulldog offense runs through reigning NSIC Setter of the Week Emily Balts, who has the second-best average in the conference with 11.96 assists per set. Keena Seiffert paces the defense with 121 digs (4.84/set).

SCOUTING NO. 19 ST. CLOUD STATE… The Huskies are entering the NSIC season with a perfect 8-0 record – the program's best start since 1985 – and their first AVCA Top-25 ranking since 1997. SCSU has a pair of wins over ranked opponents this season including No. 21 Michigan Technological University and No. 14 Wheeling University. SCSU averages 15.73 kills per set (2^nd in NSIC) with three players averaging 3.00/set or better; Linsey Rachel leads the team with 3.72/set, Chloe Dousette averages 3.18/set and Erin Navratil chips in 3.00/set. Clara Krenz leads the NSIC with 6.73 digs per set while Rachel has the third-best average with 4.96 digs per set. Maddy Torve, the leading setter in the NSIC, has tallied 337 assists or 12.96 per set this season. Upper Iowa leads the all-time series with St. Cloud State 14-5 and has won the 12 of the last 13 including the last nine contests.

WHAT'S COMING NEXT… Upper Iowa is set to return home for the first time this season to challenge the University of Minnesota Crookston Golden Eagles and Bemidji Stat University Beavers in Dorman Gymnasium on Sept. 27-28.