THIS WEEKEND IN PEACOCK VOLLEYBALL… Upper Iowa, who was ranked No. 23 in the latest AVCA Division II Coaches Top 25 Poll, is prepped to open up the 2019 home schedule this weekend in Dorman Gymnasium. The Peacocks will welcome the Golden Eagles of University of Minnesota Crookston on Friday night at 6 p.m. ahead of an afternoon tilt against the Bemidji State University Beavers on Saturday at 2 p.m.

LIVE OPTIONS… Live stats and webcast will be available all weekend through the links at UIUPeacocks.com/Live and both matches will be streamed live on the Stretch Internet App for fans with Roku, Amazon Fire, Apple or Android televisions. In addition, Friday's match will be available to watch on KCRG-TV 9.2 (tape delay available later in the evening) and Saturday's match will be broadcast live on KCRG-TV 9.3.

A WEEKEND OF RECOGNITIONS… The Upper Iowa athletic department will take the opportunity to recognize several student-athletes during the first home weekend of volleyball. Libero Haley Weepie will be recognized prior to the match on Friday evening for becoming just the eighth Peacock to eclipse 1,000 digs in her career, a milestone she reached during UIU's 3-0 win at the University of Wisconsin-Parkside on Sept. 13. Upper Iowa will then acknowledge the current President's Team made up of student-athletes who have achieved the highest cumulative GPA on their respective team in between the 2^nd and 3^rd set on Friday evening. On Saturday, Anna Winter will be honored before the match for becoming just the fifth Peacock to reach 1,000 career kills, a feat she achieved during a 3-0 victory against Quincy University on Sept. 14. Later Saturday evening, Winter will be recognized at the first quarter break of the home football game for receiving the prestigious 2019 NSIC Willis R. Kelly Scholar-Athlete Award presented to the NSIC's top female student-athlete.   

MINUTE TO WIN IT… The Student Athletic Advisory Committee will be walking through the stands between the 1^st and 2^nd set of Friday night's game for their Minute to Win It fundraiser. Members of SAAC will collect donations in that minute with all the money going to Make-A-Wish Foundation.

MOVIN' ON UP… Upper Iowa moved up two positions from last week's AVCA Division II rankings to the No. 23 spot in the country, the highest ranking in program history. The Peacocks are coming off two hard-fought battles against NSIC opponents that are currently ranked in the Top-15, falling to No. 4 University of Minnesota Duluth in three sets before dropping a five-set thriller to St. Cloud State University who climbed four spots in the rankings this week to No. 15. Along with UIU, UMD, and SCSU, five other NSIC schools are recognized in the poll while three more sit just outside of the rankings.

STEADY SENIOR… The Peacocks are led offensively by Anna Winter who has had an incredible start to her final season at Upper Iowa. The senior outside hitter is averaging the sixth-most kills in all of NCAA Division II with 4.66 per set and the eighth-most points per set with 5.17 points. Winter has reached double-figure kills in every match this year for a season total of 163 kills (1^st in NSIC, 21^st in NCAA DII), including a career-high 27 against St. Cloud State last weekend. In that same match, Winter also dug up a career-high 14 digs to notch her second career double-double of kill-dig variety. She has hit .300 or better in all but one match this season for a .346 cumulative hitting percentage, the ninth best in the conference.

ELSEWHERE IN THE RANKINGS… Upper Iowa has a few other players amongst NSIC leaders in various statistical categories. Sarah Johnson has been dominant at the net as a freshman and ranks third in the conference with 1.29 blocks per set, an average that also is the 17^th-best in NCAA Division II. Johnson also finds herself in the top-15 across the NSIC with .40 aces per set (12^th in NSIC) and a .338 hitting percentage (14^th in NSIC). Haley Weepie is among the conferences' best defensive players with 4.49 digs per set (6^th in NSIC), while Carlee Ketchum ranks seventh with 10.23 assists per set (36^th in NCAA DII).    

SCOUTING MINNESOTA CROOKSTON… The Golden Eagles (2-8, 0-2 NSIC) enter the weekend having lost both conference matches last weekend at home against No. 6 Concordia University-St. Paul (3-0) and Minnesota State University, Mankato (3-1). In both matches, the Golden Eagles struggled to get off to a good start but played tough the rest of the way. UMC is averaging 9.6 kills per set led by Porsha Porath who has been the go-to offensive player for Minnesota Crookston with 130 total kills (3.25 kills/set) on the season on 441 total attacks. The Golden Eagle offense runs primarily through Sydney Kruisselbrink who leads the team with 215 assists (5.38/set) on the year. Kruisselbrink also has 92 digs (2.3/set), which is second behind Katie Lienemann with 116 digs (3.14/set).

SCOUTING BEMIDJI STATE… The Beavers (3-7, 0-2 NSIC) are coming off a pair of losses to Minnesota State University, Mankato and No. 6 Concordia University-St. Paul last weekend in their home and NSIC openers. Bemidji State swiped a set against MSU for the first time in four years before taking two sets from the Golden Bears for the first time since 2003, but ultimately feel 3-1 and 3-2, respectively. The Beavers rank 12^th in the conference with a .192 hitting percentage and are 13^th on defense by allowing opponents to hit a .232 clip. Junior Becky Schroeder leads the BSU offense with 129 kills (3.22/set) while Haley Stolt has chipped in 103 kills (2.58/set). Redshirt freshman Maddie Mackinac coordinates the attack and has tallied 395 assists (9.88/set) this season. Emma Hallmann carries the workload on the backline with 157 digs (3.92/set).

WHAT'S COMING NEXT… Upper Iowa will head to Marshall, Minn. to face No. 9 Southwest Minnesota State University before making their way to Sioux Falls, S. D. to face No. 19 University of Sioux Falls on Oct. 4-5.