THIS WEEKEND IN UIU VOLLEYBALL… The Peacock volleyball team is on the road this weekend after posting three wins in their four-match home stand over the last two weekends. Upper Iowa will play at No. 8 Wayne State College on Friday night at 6 p.m. and then head north to battle Augustana University on Saturday at 2 p.m. UIU comes into the weekend with a 15-5 record overall and an 8-3 mark in the NSIC, while the Wildcats are 16-3 overall and 9-2 in the conference and the Vikings are 12-7 with a 7-4 mark in Northern Sun matches.
LIVE OPTIONS... Both NSIC matches will have multiple options for following live if fans can't get to Wayne and Sioux Falls to catch the action in person. Both matches will have live stats and a NSIC Network webcast available through links at UIUPeacocks.com/Live. The matches can also be streamed through most mobile devices at NSICNetwork.com/UIUPeacocks or through the NSIC Network app on Roku and Amazon Fire devices, as well as Apple and Android televisions.
QUITE A RUN… The Peacocks have won seven of their last eight matches including wins over the No. 23 University of Minnesota Duluth and No. 10 Southwest Minnesota State University at home. During that run, UIU's only blemish came in a four-set loss to No. 16 St. Cloud State University. Upper Iowa has posted five sweeps over the last four weeks including last Friday night at home against the University of Sioux Falls. During the last eight matches,
Kaitlin Niedert (2.68),
Maggie Streightiff (2.61) and
Zoe Semelroth (2.58) have all averaged over 2.5 kills/set and the team has hit .236 while holding opponents to a .178 average.
Charisma Herr and
Madelyn Rettler have led the defense with 3.43 and 2.93 digs/set averages. The service line has played a big role in the run as well with the Peacocks posting a 64-31 advantage in aces over the last eight contests.
IN THE RANKINGS… UIU continues to be ranked in the top-five of several categories within the Northern Sun Conference and in the top-35 across all NCAA Division II. In terms of per set averages, UIU is fourth in the NSIC in digs (15.24) and aces (1.86), fifth in kills (13.52) and sixth in assists (12.34). Nationally, the Peacocks are 32nd in kills/set and 35th in assists/set. Upper Iowa's season totals are among the best in the NSIC including the third-best mark of 132 aces, as well as the fifth-best total of 876 assists. While seventh-best in the NSIC, the team's .242 hitting percentage ranks 34th in the nation.
"STREIGHT" TO THE POINT… After being named the NSIC Offensive Player of the Week,
Maggie Streightiff was also named the Sports Imports/AVCA Division II Player of the Week. The senior right-side hitter led Upper Iowa to a pair of wins at home over the weekend. Streightiff registered 33 kills in Upper Iowa's two home wins over Sioux Falls and No. 10 SMSU. The Hayfield, Minn. product averaged 4.13 kills per set and hit .463 in the two matches with just 8 attack errors in 54 swings. Streightiff tallied 22 kills in UIU's five-frame upset of the #10 Mustangs. For the year, Streightiff is averaging 2.68 kills/set with a .290 attack percentage.
PEACOCK LEADERS… Streightiff and Niedert lead UIU's offensive attack at the pins with 190 and 184 total kills, respectively. The pair rank 15
th and 17
th in the conference in total kills just ahead of their younger teammate in the middle. Semelroth has been a consistent force for the Peacocks in the middle hitting .329 on the season with 176 kills. With the addition of her 0.74 blocks/set, the Tripoli, Iowa product is averaging 3.27 points/set, which ranks 16th in the Northern Sun.UIU's libero
Charisma Herr leads the Peacocks' effort on defense with 4.32 digs/set, which ranks sixth in the conference. Herr has also posted the third-most service aces in the NSIC with 29 on the year.
A CLOSER LOOK AT THE NO. 8 WILDCATS (from WSC Sports Communication)… The Wildcats are ranked eighth in this week's AVCA Division II Top 25 Coaches Poll after splitting road matches last weekend at then #7 Concordia-St. Paul (L 3-2) and Minnesota State (W 3-0). Wayne State ranks third in the NSIC in hitting percentage (.266). Outside hitter Kelsie Cada leads a balanced Wildcat attack with 3.35 kils per set, ranking 11th in the NSIC in kills per set. She also ranks 11th in points per set at 3.88 and is 11th in service aces per set leading WSC with 22. Jaz DeHaan follows with 2.76 kills per set. Taya Beller averages 2.70 kills per set and ranks seventh in the league with a .342 attack percentage while also leading the team in blocks with 55. Maggie Brahmer, leads the NSIC in hitting percentage (.445) and averages 2.49 kills and 0.84 blocks per set. Setter Rachel Walker is fifth in the NSIC averaging 10.21 assists per set while libero Alaina Wolff ranks 13th in
PUTTING THE VIKINGS UNDER THE MICROSCOPE (from Augie Sports Communication) … Augustana is 12-7 on the season and 7-3 within the league. Most recently, the Vikings dropped a pair of matches at Minnesota State (3-2) and No. 7 Concordia-St. Paul (3-1). Over the weekend, junior Maddy Guetter surpassed 500 career kills while also having her second consecutive 30-kill match. The Vikings are led by Guetter averaging 3.83 kills per set, Avery Thorson dishing out 9.97 assists per set and Erika Bute averaging 4.81 digs per set. The week prior to Streightiff being named the Division II Player of the Week, Guetter earned the honor.
UP NEXT… Upper Iowa will have a busy run of matches from Thursday, Oct. 28 through Saturday, Nov. 6. The Peacocks will take on Winona State University on the 28th at home then head to Minnesota State University, Mankato on Saturday, Oct. 30. UIU will return home quickly to face Concordia University, St. Paul in Fayette on Tuesday, Nov. 2 and then host the University of Mary on Friday, Nov. 5 and Minot State University on Saturday, Nov. 6. The Peacocks will honor their seniors prior to the match against the Beavers on the 6th.
