Upper Iowa volleyball posted their first win of the season over a top-25 team on Saturday when they upset the No. 23 Bulldogs of the University of Minnesota Duluth in four sets. The Peacocks put together a gritty performance and outlasted the Bulldogs in the in a match that saw 29 ties and 13 lead changes within the sets.
The home team scored a narrow 25-23 win in set one, but the visitors answered with a 25-21 win in set two. Upper Iowa trailed 8-3 early in set three, but a 5-0 run fueled by an assisted block and two Kono kills tied the set at 8-8. The set was still tied 17-17 when UIU closed out the frame on a 8-2 run which included three straight points off Peacock blocks to win 25-19. In the fourth set, Upper Iowa used offensive spurts of 6-1, 6-0, and 3-0 to run away with a 25-18 win to secure the match.
UIU's win improved their record to 13-5 overall and 6-3 in the Northern Sun, while UMD fell to 10-7 overall and 3-6 in the conference.
The Peacock coaching staff stayed with their change that sparked the team in the third set in Friday night's 3-1 loss to No. 16 St. Cloud State University. Upper Iowa played with two setters and added an extra hitter into the rotations. The adjustments led to the emergence of
Emily Kono on the outside. Kono led the Peacock attack with 16 kills on 39 swings, while
Zoe Semelroth remained a constant in the middle recording 10 kills.
Two setters paced the attack with
Jaima Tonne handing out 20 assists and
Nicole Pozorski notching 17. The switch in lineups allowed
Kaitlin Niedert to serve and she tallied three aces along with eight digs, four kills and two blocks.
Madelyn Rettler also racked up three aces and added six digs.
Charisma Herr picked up 14 digs on the back line, while
Kylie Willis posted 5 blocks and 5 kills in the middle.
For the match, Upper Iowa tallied 46 kills with 27 attack errors for a .145 hitting percentage, but held Minnesota Duluth to a .079 hitting percentage on 39 kills and 29 attack errors.
Upper Iowa will host another two matches in Dorman Memorial Gymnasium next Friday and Saturday, Oct. 15-16. The Peacocks will welcome the Cougars of the University of Sioux Falls on Friday at 6 p.m. and the Mustangs of Southwest Minnesota State University on Saturday at 5 p.m.
