THIS WEEK IN UIU VOLLEYBALL… Upper Iowa has a busy week ahead with three matches in the next-to-last week of the regular season. The Peacocks will host Winona State University on Tuesday, Oct. 25 at 6 p.m. and then travel west to face Augustana University and No. 3 Wayne State College on Friday and Saturday, Oct. 28-29. UIU is currently in 10th place in the Northern Sun Conference standings just one match behind both Winona State and Augustana, who are tied for eighth. Wayne State sits atop the NSIC leaderboard with just one loss along with No. 2 Concordia University, St. Paul.

LIVE OPTIONS… All three matches this week will have live options available for fans who can't make it to Fayette, Sioux Falls or Wayne. Live stats and a webcast will be available on Tuesday, Friday and Saturday through links at UIUPeacocks.com/Live. In addition, the matches can 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. The Winona State match will also be broadcasted live on KCRG-TV 9.2 on Tuesday night.
 
GET YOUR TICKETS… Upper Iowa has partnered with HomeTown Ticketing for all of this season's volleyball matches in Dorman. Tickets can be purchased ahead of time at UIUPeacocks.com/Tickets or by paying cash in person prior to the match. Fans are encouraged to stay ahead of the curve this season with the HomeTown Ticketing Fan App available on all mobile device platforms.
 
DIGITAL MATCHDAY PROGRAM… Digital programs are available to fans in the gymnasium or at home for the Winona State match. Fans can access the interactive gameday program at any time at UIUPeacocks.com/Programs. QR Codes will also be located around the lobby to scan with your cell phone's camera that will link you directly to that game's specific digital gameday program.
 
BLAST FROM THE PAST… Upper Iowa split a pair of matches last week losing a 3-1 decision at then-No. 3 Concordia University, St. Paul on Thursday before sweeping Minnesota State University, Mankato at home on Saturday. UIU hit .234 for the week with 77 kills, 17 service aces and 12 team blocks to account for 71% of the team's points in the seven sets. The Peacock defenders picked up 80 digs in the matches for an average of 11.4 per set. Maggie Streightiff knocked down 23 kills in UIU's seven sets including 15 kills in St. Paul and then added eight in a balanced attack in UIU's home sweep of Minnesota State. The Peacock graduate student averaged 3.29 kills per set and hit .367 with only five attack errors.
 
PEACOCKS AMONG THE NSIC LEADERS… Zoe Semelroth is ranked 17th in the NSIC in kills/set with 3.03 and in total kills with 236. Semelroth is also ranked eighth in aces/set with 0.4 and a total of 30. Thanks to her kills, aces and blocks, the Peacock middle is 10th in the conference in points/set with an average of 3.8. Kaci Beesecker has scored the second-most aces in the conference with 37 for a 0.5 per set average and is also ranked third in the NSIC in digs/set with a 4.5 per set average. Pozorski is ranked ninth in assists/set with an average of 9.4, while Madelyn Rettler averages the 10th best number of digs/set at 3.5 and the 19th-most aces with 24 on the season.
 
POSTSEASON MATH… The top eight teams in the Northern Sun at the end of the regular season will earn a place at the 2022 NSIC Volleyball Tournament in St. Paul, Minn. The top five teams in the standings look to be locks for pushing into the postseason; No. 3 Wayne State and No. 2 Concordia-St. Paul are both 14-1, while No. 4 University of Minnesota Duluth is 13-2, No. 5 Southwest Minnesota State University is 12-3 and No. 7 St. Cloud State University is 11-4. The final three spots in the tournament look to be up for grabs still with five matches remaining. The teams still in the hunt include Northern State University and the University of Sioux Falls, who are both 9-6, Augustana and Winona State, who are both 8-7, and Upper Iowa, who is 7-8. UIU can control their final place in the standings with three matches against the teams in this group fighting for a spot in the postseason.
 
LAST TIME THEY MET… Upper Iowa averaged 12.75 kills/set in the first go-around with the Warriors, Vikings and Wildcats, but hit .143 with 153 kills and 80 attack errors. The Peacocks notched more kills than their opponents in those three matches picking up a four-set win over Augustana and dropping four-set decisions to Winona State and Wayne State. Individually, Semelroth had 44 kills and Streightiff added 32 kills in the twelve sets, while Beesecker, Rettler and Pozorski averaged 5.08, 4.45 and 3.92 digs/set, respectively, against the quality competition. Play at the net was the major difference between winning and losing the first time the teams met. The Warriors, Vikings and Wildcats posted a 24-11 advantage in blocks.
 
OPPONENTS TO WATCH FOR… These are the opponents that have stood out for the Warriors, Vikings and Wildcats so far this season.

• Winona State – Madison Larson (3.42 kills/set), Sidney Paulson (3.32 kills/set, 3.10 digs/set, 23 aces), Taylor Page (2.15 kills/set), Jaci Winchell (9.93 assists/set, 2.83 digs/set), Casey Volkmann (4.08 digs/set), Mikenna Joerger (1.17 blocks/set) and Taylor Pagel (0.8 blocks/set)
• Augustana – Maddy Guetter (3.28 kills/set, 2.82 digs/set, 44 aces), Kate Reimann (3.20 kills/set), Kia Kriener (2.54 kills/set), Avery Thorson (10.08 assists/set, 2.56 digs/set), Erika Bute (5.12 digs/set), Piper Asche (0.95 blocks/set) and Jolie Stecher (0.73 blocks/set)
• Wayne State – Taya Beller (3.98 kills/set, 0.98 blocks/set), Kelsie Cada (3.60 kills/set, 3.26 digs/set, 32 aces), Maggie Brahmer (3.20 kills/set, 1.23 blocks/set), Rachel Walker (10.81 assists/set), Jessie Brandl (4.06 digs/set) and Jordan McCormick (2.58 digs/set)

WHO'S NEXT… The Peacocks will close out the regular season at home on Friday and Saturday, Nov. 4-5. Upper Iowa will host the Mustangs of Southwest Minnesota State at 6 p.m. on Friday and then take on the Cougars of the University of Sioux Falls on Saturday at 5 p.m. UIU will honor their seniors prior to the match on Friday night.