This Week in Peacock Volleyball… Upper Iowa is on the road this week for three Northern Sun Conference matches. The Peacocks will play at No. 6 Concordia University, St. Paul on Wednesday night at 6 p.m. before traveling to Minot State University on Friday and the University of Mary on Saturday. UIU enters the week with an 8-3 record overall and a 1-1 mark in the NSIC.
Live Options… All three NSIC matches will have multiple options for following live if fans can't be there in person. All 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.
Looking in the Rearview… The Peacock volleyball team went 2-1 last week at home with wins over the University of Wisconsin-Parkside and Minnesota State University Moorhead. The only blemish on their record came in a tight, four-set loss to Northern State University on Saturday. UIU had set points in both the first and fourth sets, which they came up on the short end of 30-28 and 28-26 scores.
Zoe Semelroth tallied 37 kills in three matches to lead UIU's offense with a 3.36/set average and a .333 hitting percentage.
Kaitlin Niedert posted 36 kills, while
Maggie Streightiff and
Carlee Dove each recorded 33 and
Madelyn Rettler added 29.
Charisma Herr led the Peacock defense with 57 digs and a 5.18/set average in three matches and chipped in 16 assists and 2 aces.
Nicole Pozorski handed out 141 assists including 12.82/set and added 21 digs, 7 kills and 5 blocks; UIU's setter hit the 50-assist mark twice during the week including 54 against Wisconsin-Parkside and 50 against Northern State.
The National Scene… Upper Iowa ranks nationally in the top-35 of several categories including kills/set with 14.03, which ranks 18
th in NCAA Division II and third in the NSIC, assists/set with 12.70 (28
th NCAA/6
th NSIC) and hitting percentage at .248 (35
th NCAA, 7
th NSIC). Pozorski ranks 32
nd as an individual in all of NCAA Division II with her 10.28 assists/set, while Herr is 46
th nationally in digs/set with a 5.00 average.
Scouting the No. 6 Golden Bears… Concordia-St. Paul comes into Wednesday night's match with an 8-2 record overall and a 2-0 record in the NSIC after wins over Minot State and UMary last weekend. The Golden Bears are hitting .269 as a team and averages 13.9 kills/set, while holding their opponents to a .160 hitting average. CSP's defense relies heavily on their play at the net where they are averaging 2.4 blocks/set this season. Jasmine Mulvihilll leads the offense with 3.69 kills/set, while Ellie Veldman paces the attack with 10.3 assists/set. Defensively, the Golden Bears are led by Katie Mattson (34 blocks), Kennedy Brady (31 blocks), Mulvihill (23 blocks) and Veldman (19 blocks) at the net. Tori Hanson is averaging 3.84 digs/set on the back line.
Scouting the Beavers… Minot State comes into the action this week with an 0-8 record overall and an 0-3 mark in the conference. The Beavers are hitting .128 as a team and are averaging 8.4 kills/set. Offensively, MiSU is led by Alexandra Koontz (2.56 kills/set) and Roxy King (1.65/set) with Sophia Peterson getting the bulk of the assists with a 5.23 per set average. On the other side of the net, the Beavers are getting 2.19 digs/set from Tea Boeckel and 1.7 per set from Koontz, while Jenna Pahlen adds .67 blocks/set at the net.
Scouting the Marauders… UMary is 2-9 through the first few weeks of the 2021 season, but has posted an 0-3 record against NSIC foes. The Marauders are hitting .111 as a team with 9.7 kills per set, but have allowed 12.6 kills/set to their opponents. UMary is led by Kennedy Drewis (2.56 kills/set) and Natalia Cruz (2.41/set) on offense with a pair of setters, Kameron Selvig and Kaia Lill, running the offense. Kaia Sueker is recording 4.19 digs/set to pace the defense.
Up Next… The Peacocks will stay on the road next week as well. Upper Iowa lines up against Bemidji State University and the University of Minnesota Crookston on Oct. 1 and 2.
