THIS WEEKEND IN PEACOCK VOLLEYBALL… Upper Iowa (6-1) will be on the road for one more weekend before playing in front of their home crowd in Dorman Memorial Gymnasium. The Peacocks will head west to the University of Sioux Falls (4-3) in Sioux Falls, S.D. on Friday, Sept. 9 and No. 9 Southwest Minnesota State University (8-0) in Marshall, Minn. on Saturday, Sept. 10. The two matches will open the 2022 Northern Sun Conference schedule for all teams involved.
 
LIVE OPTIONS… Both matches will have a pair of live options available for fans who can't make it to Sioux Falls and Marshall. Live stats and a webcast will be available through links at UIUPeacocks.com/Live. In addition, the game 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. 
 
TAKIN' IT BACK… Upper Iowa posted a perfect 3-0 record last weekend with wins over the University of Wisconsin Parkside, McKendree University and the University of Illinois Springfield. UIU also had a 2-1 lead over No. 19 Michigan Technological University when the match was called due to extreme heat and a prolonged break in the gym. Zoe Semelroth and Nicole Pozorski were named to the Hampton Inn Invitational All-Tournament team after leading the Peacocks to the only undefeated record in the field in Kenosha.
 
EFFICIENCY IS KEY… Middle blocker Zoe Semelroth continued her hot start to the 2022 campaign knocking down another 40 kills in UIU's three wins. Her kill total ranks 19^th in the Northern Sun, but her hitting percentage of .412 ranks as the third-highest rate in the NSIC and 26^th best in the country. Last weekend, Semelroth set a new season-high in kills with 17 against McKendree and has now recorded double-digit kills in four of UIU's seven matches. The Tripoli, Iowa product has also tallied 22 blocks.
 
IN THE "NIC" OF TIME… Setter Nicole Pozorski steered Upper Iowa's offense to three victories thanks to 120 assists (10.91/set). The Eagle, Wis. native added 28 digs, 8 blocks and 12 kills in Kenosha. She had her best match this season against Parkside on Friday when she notched 48 assists (12/set) and added 9 digs, 7 kills and 2 blocks.
 
HANDS ON DEFENSE… Libero Kaci Beesecker was also outstanding for the Peacocks over the weekend leading the team's backline defense with 59 digs (5.36/set) and adding an ace and six assists. The sophomore grabbed 18 digs against the Parkside, 20 against McKendree University and 21 in a three-set win over the University of Illinois Springfield over the weekend. On the year, the Fairbank, Iowa talent has a team-high 110 digs and a 3.93 per set average.
 
TEAMWORK IS THE KEY… Several Peacocks have had solid starts to their seasons including Madelyn Retter, Sarah Johnson, and Maggie Streightiff. Rettler is averaging 2.25 kills/set and adds 3.50 digs/set; both marks are second-best on the team. Johnson has returned to the starting lineup this season in the middle and has averaged 2.0 kills/set and 0.95 blocks/set. Streightiff is averaging 2.0 kills/set to give the offense a lift from the right side.
 
CORRALING THE COUGARS… Sioux Falls had a tough opening weekend at the Rosella Meier Fall Classic in Kearney, Neb. posting a 1-3 record, but a pair of the loss came to teams ranked in the top ten of the AVCA Division II Top 25. This past weekend, the Cougars bounced back with three wins over Montana State University-Billings, Minot State University and Chadron State College claiming nine of the 11 sets played. Courtney Holsteen (56 kills), Sadie Voss (55 kills) and Grace Hanel (52 kills) combine to lead the attack, while Elise Gillen (132 assists) sets up the offense. Defensively, USF is led by Gillen (60 digs) and Voss (56 digs) on the backline, as well as Jordyn Hamm (17 blocks) at the net.
 
MARKING THE MUSTANGS… So far this season, no one has been able to hang a loss on Southwest Minnesota State. The team is 8-0 in the early going and rank seventh in the nation in both kills per set (14.55) and assists per set (13.59). The offense has also been powered by the 14th best hitting percentage in the nation (.274). The defense has also been a strength thanks to the 14th most blocks (73) and 17th most blocks per set (2.52) in the country. Senior Alisa Bengen has been the offensive catalyst, ranking ninth in the nation with 11.21 assists per set, and 14th in the nation with 314 total assists. Freshman Karli Arkell and Sophomore Emma VanHeel have been tough on the front line, ranking 34th (1.23) and 57th (1.14) in blocks per set, respectively. Sophomore Saari Kuehl has been the leader of the Mustang attack, ranking 46th in the nation with 102 total kills.
 
UP NEXT… The Peacocks will open their home schedule next Friday and Saturday, Sept. 16-17 in Dorman Memorial Gymnasium. Upper Iowa will host the Wildcats of Wayne State College on Friday at 6 p.m. and then line up with the Vikings of Augustana University on Saturday at 2 p.m.