Upper Iowa locked up with Winona State University on Tuesday night in the season's first mid-week Northern Sun Conference battle. The Peacocks came up on the wrong end of a four-set thriller in Winona, Minn. After the decision, Winona State improved to 9-7 overall and 5-4 in the conference, while UIU fell to 10-6 overall and 4-5 in NSIC action.
 
UIU won the first set 25-22, but the home team rallied for a 25-16 win in set two. After the break, the Peacocks survived the first three set points in the third frame, but eventually lost the set by a 28-26 count. The Warriors claimed the match win with a 25-19 win in the fourth frame.
 
Winona State held a slight advantage in kills (54-48), service aces (7-6), blocks (5-4) and digs (104-92). UIU forced the Warriors into 11 attack errors in the first set, but the home team only committed 13 more attack errors over the final three sets.
 
Sidney Paulson led Winona State with 15 kills, while Madison Larson added 13. Jaci Winchell handed out 39 assists, while Kylie Welch (29) and Rylee Vaughn (20) combined for 49 digs.
 
Zoe Semelroth put down a match-high 16 kills, while Emily Kono came off the bench to knock down nine kills in just two sets. Nicole Pozorski ran the UIU attack and registered 38 assists, while Kaci Beesecker (29) and Madelyn Rettler (21) combined for 40 digs.
 
In the first set, the Peacocks came out of the gates with intensity as the visitors took a 10-4 lead. After the Warriors fought back to tie the frame at 14-all, UIU got loose again behind the serve of Sarah Stevelinck and Pozorski to build leads at 18-14 and 24-18.
 
After Winona State controlled the second set with 14 kills and only two attack errors, Upper Iowa battled toe-to-toe with their hosts. Back-to-back kills by Semelroth late in the third set knotted the score at 22-all. The teams exchanged the next nine points back and forth as Upper Iowa fought off three set points. An attack error by UIU, gave the final point of the set to the Warriors as they moved ahead 2-1.
 
Upper Iowa fell behind by four points, 12-8, in the fourth set, but the Peacocks rallied to pull within one, 15-14, fueled by three kills off the right hand of Kono. The home team answered the rally with one of their own reclaiming control and moving ahead 20-15 after a 5-1 run. Three kills from Semelroth and one more from Kono allowed UIU to climb back within three points, 22-19, but the Warriors shut down the comeback and won the set and match with three straight points.
 
The Peacocks will head back into Minnesota this coming weekend to face a pair of the Northern Sun and nation's best teams. Upper Iowa will face No. 7 St. Cloud State University on Friday, Oct. 7 at 6 p.m. and the No. 6 University of Minnesota Duluth on Saturday, Oct. 8 at 4 p.m. UMD outlasted SCSU in five sets on Tuesday night.