The Upper Iowa volleyball team and Head Coach Aaron Nelson have signed Martha Pace to a National Letter of Intent. Pace is a four-sport athlete at West Liberty High School; she also competes in basketball, track and field and softball at West Liberty.
 
Pace and the Comet volleyball team had their season end in a loss to Assumption High School in the Iowa State Tournament's Class 3A - Region 8 Championship. The team was 26-7 this past fall and Pace was second on the team with 287 kills and 16 blocks, while registering the third most digs on the team at 243. For her career, she has tallied 1125 kills for a 3.11 kills/set average and 858 digs for a 2.37 digs/set average. Thanks to her senior season, she earned a place on the IGCA Senior All-Star Team. Following her junior season, she was named to the IGCA Class 3A All-State Second Team and the IGCA Class 3A All-Southeast District Team over the last two years. Pace is a four-time All-River Valley Conference performer earning Elite Team status as a junior and senior, while the Comets have posted a 105-40 record over the last four seasons. The three-year volleyball captain is a member of the National Honor Society and the TriM Music Honor Society. Pace scored 2020 Academic All-State honors as well. She is the daughter of Lori and Tom Pace and will major in biology at Upper Iowa.
 
"Martha is an extremely intelligent individual with a high volleyball IQ," said Nelson. "She is a great all-around player who makes a consistent impact at the net and in the backcourt with her exceptional ball control.  Her attention to detail allows her see things around her clearly and to be very efficient with everything she does.  She communicates well at all times and is a great teammate who understands how to make those around her better.  We are looking forward to adding her energy, intensity and positive personality to the collective competitive spirit we have with our current group.  We are excited to have Martha with her skill and big match experience as part of the Peacock volleyball family.  We cannot wait to get this group together in 2021 and see where we can go."
 
The Peacock volleyball team trained this fall with nine new faces on the roster. Upper Iowa is coming off three straight appearances in the Northern Sun Conference Tournament and the program has become a regular in the AVCA Top 25 each week over the last two years.