This Week in Peacock Volleyball… Upper Iowa's volleyball team is ready to take to the court this Friday and Saturday at the Miner Invitational hosted by the University of Missouri Science and Technology in Rolla, Mo. The Peacocks will line up for a pair of twin bills at the event taking on the University of Arkansas at Monticello and the host Miners on Friday and Purdue University-Northwest and Missouri Western State University on Saturday. The Peacocks opened the 2017 season in Rolla at the same tournament going 5-0 with a pair of victories over Missouri S&T.
Live Options… All four matches will have a pair of live options available for fans who can't make it to the matches in Rolla. Both live stats and a webcast of each match will be available using the links above or by going to UIUPeacocks.com/Live.
Preseason Polls… Upper Iowa tied for ninth place with Minnesota State University, Mankato with 109 points in the NSIC Volleyball Coaches' Preseason Poll. The Peacocks are prepped for another run in the high-power Northern Sun Conference this fall. UIU has earned a spot in three-straight NSIC Championships and have posted an overall record of 60-29 and a conference mark of 35-25 in that time. The Peacocks are currently receiving 25 votes in the AVCA Preseason Top-25 joining eight other NSIC teams that are either in the top-25 or receiving votes. Prior to the pandemic, the Peacocks were ranked in the AVCA Division II Top-25 for 12 straight polls including two weeks at No. 18, the highest ranking in program history.
Recognizable Faces… Head Coach
Aaron Nelson and Associate Coach
Jenna Sullivan return for another year leading this group of Peacocks. Upper Iowa is made up of a roster full of new faces, but returners
Kaitlin Niedert,
Maggie Streightiff, and
Charisma Herr bring a wealth of experience to a team that features 12 players that have not worn Peacock blue and white in a regular season match. Niedert, who was named a 2021 NSIC Player to Watch, has played in 57 matches in 2018 and 2019 amassing 558 kills, 138 digs and 93 blocks. Streightiff racked up 260 kills in 2019 and added 61 digs and 38 blocks. Herr put her hands on 270 digs and served 23 aces in 2019 as a sophomore.
Kylie Willis will also play in the middle for UIU after cutting her teeth as a freshman in 2019 with 14 kills and 4 blocks in 11 sets prior to an injury.
Who's That? Twelve Peacocks, including nine players that were on campus all of last year, will be donning the UIU colors for a regular season match for the first time this weekend. Upper Iowa is expecting immediate contributions from a few of the first-timers… namely setter
Nicole Pozorski, outside hitter
Madelyn Rettler, and middle
Zoe Semelroth.
Sizing Up the Competition… The Blossoms of Arkansas-Monticello were picked to finish eight in the Great American Conference this fall. During the 2021 spring season UAM finished with a 6-6 record and earned its first win in program history in the GAC Tournament after defeating Ouachita Baptist in the first round. The Blossoms return a host of contributors from the spring 2021 season including the top two in kills on the team, Faith Wilemon and Mikaela Brown, and its top defensive specialist Katelyn Richbourg.
The host Miners are also receiving 9 votes in the AVCA Top-25 preseason poll and have been picked to win the Great Lakes Valley Conference's West Division. Missouri S&T won the GLVC West championship in the spring season and later advanced to the championship game of the GLVC Tournament after a season in which it finished with a record of 14-7. S&T returns three All-GLVC performers from that squad, led by first-team selection Payton Gannaway.
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Purdue-Northwest earned a fifth-place ranking in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference South Division preseason poll. Seniors Bryanna Moonen and Caleigh Smith, along with junior Lauren Schmidt, will lead a group of nine underclassmen. Three of PNW's top six leaders in points return from last season, including sophomore Erica Brohm, who led the team with 122 points after starting all 14 matches as a freshman. She logged a team-high 97 kills and .241 hitting percentage, while posting the second-most blocks with 36.
Missouri Western State has been picked sixth in the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association's preseason poll. The Griffons will have a veteran team in 2021 as they have 12 players who saw time last season when MWSU played an abbreviated spring season. Missouri Western finished 8-11 in the spring and made the MIAA Tournament quarterfinals. Three players return who earned All-MIAA honors in 2019 as the Griffons finish fifth in the league. Senior Ali Tauchen was named First Team All-MIAA two years ago, while Allie Kerns and Danielle Moje earned honorable mention honors as true freshman.
