Upper Iowa volleyball gave the No. 7 St. Cloud State University Huskies all they could handle in a Northern Sun Conference battle Friday night. The Peacocks grabbed a set-one victory, 25-20, and nearly got set three, 25-27, but came up on the wrong end of 3-1 decision in St. Cloud, Minn. After the loss, the Peacocks fell to 10-7 overall and 4-6 in the conference, while SCSU improved to 15-3 overall and 7-3 in NSIC play.
 
The Peacocks knocked down 48 kills on the night including 13 in the opening set and 17 in the long third set. While UIU's offense was solid in the first and third sets, their service game came up big throughout the night. Upper Iowa recorded eight service aces while only faltering on one Husky serve. The two teams both played big at the net with SCSU holding a slight 15-13 advantage in blocks.
 
In the first set, Upper Iowa broke a 13-all tie by outscoring their hosts 7-3 to claim a 20-16 lead thanks to kills from four different players. After the Huskies pulled within two, 22-20, the visitors won the set with three straight points fueled by a kill from Emily Kono and an ace by Kaci Beesecker.
 
UIU trailed by five, 17-12, in the second frame, but scored four of the next five points to climb back within two points, 18-16. SCSU only allowed three more points from the Peacocks on the way to a 25-19 win to pull the match even.
 
The Peacocks came into the third set on fire and raced out to a 12-4 lead thanks to a pair of kills from both Zoe Semelroth and Kaitlyn Mohwinkle. After the Huskies got back to a four-point deficit, Upper Iowa was able to reestablish their big lead with five of the next seven points to push back out to a 17-10 advantage. A kill from Kono gave UIU a 23-20 lead, but St. Cloud State rattled off four straight points to take a 24-23 lead. Two kills in a row from Mohwinkle and Semelroth set up the Peacocks for a set point, but the home team rallied with three straight points to win 27-25.
 
A four-point run midway through the fourth set allowed the Peacocks to stay within two, 17-15, of their nationally-ranked opponents, but the Huskies answered with a four-point run of their own to go back ahead, 21-15, en route to a 25-18 win to secure the match victory.
 
St. Cloud State was led by three attackers with double figure kills including Phebie Rossi (16), Kenzie Foley (16) and Linsey Rachel (13), while Emma Berran handed out 53 assists. Rossi notched 9 blocks, while Foley registered seven and Sam Zimmerman added five. Foley was only four blocks from a triple-double thanks to her kills and a team-high 18 digs.
 
Semelroth (10), Mohwinkle (10), Carlee Dove (9) and Kono (8) combined for 37 of UIU's 48 kills in the match. The quartet took advantage of Nicole Pozorski's 38 assists; UIU's setter added six kills on her own as well. Beesecker led the back line with 18 digs and a match-high six service aces. Semelroth snagged seven blocks, while Dove added six and Madelyn Rettler got up for four blocks.
 
Upper Iowa will head to Duluth, Minn. to face off against the No. 6 Bulldogs of the University of Minnesota Duluth. The Peacocks and Bulldogs are scheduled for a 4 p.m. start on Saturday.