THIS WEEK IN UIU VOLLEYBALL... The Peacocks got the week started on the right foot with a 3-0 sweep of No. 10 Concordia University, St. Paul. The win was Upper Iowa's first over the Golden Bears in program history and the team's third win over a top-25 program this season. Upper Iowa enters the weekend in a five-way tie for fifth place in the Northern Sun Conference; all five teams are one-match behind Wayne State College, who sits alone in fourth place. UIU (17-8, 10-6 NSIC) welcomes the Marauders of the University of Mary on Friday night at 6 p.m. and the Beavers of Minot State University on Saturday at 2 p.m. The Peacocks swept both the Marauders and Beavers earlier this season in Bismarck and Minot, N.D.
LIVE OPTIONS... Both NSIC matches will have multiple options for following live if fans can't get to Fayette 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. Friday's match will air live on KCRG 9.2, while Saturday's contest will air live on Eastern Iowa's CW 9.3.
DIGITAL GAMEDAY PROGRAM… Upper Iowa is not be printing gameday programs; fans can access the interactive and digital gameday program at any time at
UIUPeacocks.com/Programs. The digital programs are available to fans both at our games and those at home watching the action. QR Codes will be located around the stadium to scan with your cell phone's camera that will link you directly to that game's specific digital gameday program.
SENIOR SENDOFF... The Peacocks will recognize three seniors,
Charisma Herr,
Kaitlin Niedert and
Maggie Streightiff, following the match against UMary on Friday night. Herr has played in 207 sets played in 62 matches in three seasons at UIU. The Peacock libero has 681 digs with a career-average of 3.29 digs/set. Her current 4.43 digs/set average in 2021 is the third-best mark in program history. Herr also has registered 132 assists, 56 aces and 4 kills. Niedert has competed in 290 sets across in 88 matches over four seasons. The Independence, Iowa product has 804 kills in 2328 swings, which rank eighth and seventh, respectively, in the program's all-time history. Niedert has a notched a career-average of 2.77 kills/set and also recorded 210 digs, 128 blocks, 25 assists and 6 aces. Streightiff has played in 201 sets through 61 matches in three seasons. The southpaw has tallied 487 kills in 1232 swings with a career-average of 2.42 kills/set. Streightiff has also accumulated 135 digs, 74 blocks, 22 assists, and 19 aces.
AMONG THE NSIC'S BEST... The Peacocks rank in the top five of six categories in the Northern Sun Conference team statistics including the top marks in total aces (173) and aces/set (1.9). UIU also has the third-most digs/set (15.7), the fourth-most total digs (1,394) and total attacks (3,121) and the fifth-most attacks/set (35.1). Individually, Herr is fourth in service aces (34) and total digs (394), fifth in aces/set (0.4) and sixth in digs/set (4.43).
Madelyn Rettler is sixth in total aces (33) and seventh in aces/set (0.4), while
Zoe Semelroth is seventh in total aces (32), eight in aces/set (0.4) and 13th in hitting percentage (.287).
Nicole Pozorski is eighth in total assists (786) and assists/set (8.9).
LOOKING IN THE REARVIEW... Upper Iowa posted a pair of sweeps in North Dakota in late September. In the first match with UMary, UIU took down the Marauders by scores of 25-21, 25-22 and 25-19 to secure the victory. Upper Iowa's offense was humming as the squad averaged 17.3 kills per set in the match including a high-mark of 19 in the second set. For the match, UIU recorded a hitting percentage of .292 with 52 kills and 19 attack errors. The Peacock defense applied pressure to the Marauder offense limiting the home team to 31 kills in the match and a .168 hitting percentage. The visitors registered 51 digs in the three sets for a 17 digs per set average. Against Minot State, the Peacocks won by scores of 25-5, 25-15 and 25-13 posting a massive 34-17 advantage in kills for the match. Upper Iowa hit .273 in the match including a hot .400 in the first set thanks to 10 kills and only two attack errors in 20 swings. While the offense was controlling the pace of play, the UIU defense forced the Beavers into a negative hitting percentage, -.011, thanks to 18 attack errors. Upper Iowa also scored 14 of their 53 points on the night thanks to service aces.
UP NEXT… Upper Iowa will close out the regular season next weekend with a trip north. The Peacocks will face Northern State University on Friday, Nov. 12 in Aberdeen, S.D. before moving on to Moorhead, Minn. to square up against Minnesota State University Moorhead on Saturday, Nov. 13.
