The Upper Iowa volleyball team opened up the 2019 campaign with a pair of victories at the Keweenaw Volleyball Classic hosted by Michigan Technological University on Friday, Sept. 6. The Peacocks notched their first win of the season with a 3-1 set advantage over Northern Michigan University before sweeping Lake Superior State University 3-0 to close out the first day with a perfect 2-0 record.
With the two wins, Upper Iowa improves to 5-1 all-time against Northern Michigan and 7-0 against Lake Superior State. The Peacocks are now 6-3 in season openers under the leadership of nine-year head coach Aaron Nelson.
Match One: Upper Iowa 3, Northern Michigan 1
TURNING POINT... After NMU tied the match up at one frame apiece with a 25-22 victory in set two, the teams continued to play back-and-forth in the ensuing set with the Wildcats capturing an early 10-8 lead. Upper Iowa then went on a 11-1 run powered by strong serving from freshman
Sarah Johnson and four big kills from
Anna Winter to give the Peacocks a 19-10 advantage. The Wildcats were able to close the gap back to three, 22-19, but UIU held on to claim a 25-20 victory and didn't trail for the remainder of the match.
PEACOCK OF THE GAME...
- In her first collegiate game for the Peacocks, Sarah Johnson hit .417 with six kills and just one error in 12 swings. Johnson also led the Peacocks with six total blocks, and added a pair of digs and a service ace.
STATS OF THE GAME...
- Upper Iowa collectively hit better than Northern Michigan in every frame including the set two loss
- The Peacocks had the upper hand in every major stat category including points (69.0-55.0), kills (56-44), aces (6-5), blocks (7-6), assists (50-43), and digs (75-71)
Match Two: Upper Iowa 3, Lake Superior State 0
TURNING POINT... Although Upper Iowa never trailed during the match, the second set played a critical role in the Peacocks earning their first 2-0 set advantage of the season. UIU clicked on all cylinders posting a hitting percentage of .636 during the frame thanks to 14 kills and no errors. Defensively, the Peacocks tallied three of their five blocks and forced the Lakers into seven errors during the set.
PEACOCK OF THE GAME...
- Anna Winter led all attackers with 17 kills to give the senior 37 kills on the day and 15 consecutive matches with double figure kills dating back to Sept. 29 of last season. Winter did not commit an error in 36 attempts (.472) and also got her hands on a pair of blocks.
STATS OF THE GAME...
- Twelve Peacocks got on the scoreboard with kills while eight Peacocks recorded a dig
- As a team, Upper Iowa hit .333 compared to LSSU's .063 mark
- The six points allowed in the second frame marked the fewest allowed by Upper Iowa in a single set since exactly five years ago when the Peacocks took a 25-6 set against Lake Superior State on Sept. 6, 2014
UP NEXT... Upper Iowa has two matches on tap for Saturday at the Keweenaw Volleyball Classic. The Peacocks are set to face University of Wisconsin-Parkside at 3 p.m. before challenging the host school Michigan Technological at 7 p.m.
