Upper Iowa's volleyball team (2-1) split a pair of five-set decisions in Marquette, Mich. on Friday. The Peacocks were able to get the win over the University of Minnesota Crookston (0-2), but dropped the final match of the night to Northern Michigan University (2-1). Middle Zoe Semelroth registered 26 kills in the ten sets to lead the offense committing only one attack error on the day while hitting nearly .600 in the two matches.
 
Upper Iowa 3 – Minnesota Crookston 2
Upper Iowa outlasted Minnesota Crookston in their first match of the day. The Peacocks secured a five-set win thanks to wins in sets two, three and five by scores of 25-9, 26-24 and 15-7. UMC was able to grab a 27-25 win in the opening frame and forced a fifth set with a 25-20 victory in the fourth.
 
The Peacock offense had trouble with consistency between sets. After hitting .125 in the first set, UIU hit at a .440 clip in the second set with 11 kills and no errors. In the third set, Upper Iowa played through 10 attack errors to escape with a two-point win. The Peacocks were able to find their groove again in the fifth set with 10 kills and only two errors to hit .381.
 
Madelyn Rettler led the Peacocks with a double-double thanks to 15 kills and 20 digs. Emily Kono (11 kills) and Semelroth (10 kills) added to the team's offensive attack. Nicole Pozorski pushed the offense with 38 assists and added 12 digs. Kaci Beesecker paced the backline defense with 24 digs.
 
Northern Michigan 3 – Upper Iowa 2
The Peacocks got behind two sets to none to the host Wildcats of Northern Michigan in the night cap. NMU claimed wins in the first two sets by counts of 25-21 and 25-19. Upper Iowa was able to rally in the third set with a dominant 25-17 win as the Peacock defense forced the home team into seven attack errors. UIU gutted out a 28-26 win in set four to force the tie-breaking set. In the final set, both teams knocked down eight kills apiece, but UIU committed four attack errors to NMU's one.
 
Each team had a pair of offensive stars leading their respective attacks. For the Wildcats, Jacqueline Smith racked up 18 kills and Lizzy Stark added 11, while the Peacocks were led by Semelroth's 16 kills and Maggie Streightiff's 14 kills.
 
Pozorski tallied 42 assists for UIU, while Rettler and Lydia Imbrogno each got their hands on 14 digs and Sarah Stevelinck chipped in 12 digs.
 
Up Next
Upper Iowa will close out their opening weekend in Marquette, Mich. on Saturday morning with a final match against Cedarville University at 11 a.m. EST.