The Upper Iowa volleyball program ended their regular season on a positive note as they secured a 3-1 win on senior night. The victory propelled the Peacocks to an 11-16 overall record and a 6-7 conference mark, solidifying eighth place in the GLVC. The loss dropped Maryville to 11-16 (7-6 GLVC) to end the regular season.
Upper Iowa came out strong as they won the first two sets 25-22 and 25-21, but allowed the Saints to sneak out a win in the third set in a 27-25 decision. The Peacocks regrouped and sailed through the fourth set in a 25-18 decision.
The two teams played each other even in the first set until the Peacocks captured an edge at the very end. A 5-1 slide put the home team up 19-14. Maryville responded with three straight points to keep things close and bring the deficit within two (19-17). Upper Iowa held a 22-19 lead towards the end of the set that they almost relinquished, but pulled off the 25-22 win and concluded on a kill from
Alexis Moses.
The Peacocks found themselves down in set two 10-6, but went on a five-point run midway through the set to claim a 19-16 advantage. After allowing the Saints two straight points, Upper Iowa rallied off four consecutive points, including two kills from
Zoe Semelroth to give them a 23-18 lead. Their last two points came from kills from Semelroth.
Set three was a back-and-forth battle but the Saints came out on top in their only win of the evening in a 27-25 final. UIU started off the set trailing MU 9-3, but they made their way back after going on a 7-1 midway through the set to tie things up at 14 apiece. The Peacocks held a 25-24 lead and almost clinched the second set, but a stellar defensive play by the Saints kept them in the game and gave them the opportunity to win the third set and push a fourth.
Upper Iowa executed a 14-2 slide in the fourth set to give them a convincing 17-10 advantage. They held a comfortable lead throughout the entirety of the set until they claimed a 25-18 decision, giving the Peacocks their sixth conference win of the season.
Semelroth paced the team with 17 kills (.375), followed by
Lydia Imbrogno with 14. Semelroth also led UIU in aces with four and Maddie Rettler contributed three. Imbrogno and
Kaci Beesecker each contributed 17 digs and
Nicole Pozorski dished out 24 assists.
The Peacock offense strung together 16 service aces to help fuel tonight's win.
Upper Iowa will prepare for the GLVC postseason tournament that is held on Nov. 17-19 in Williamsville, Ill. The Peacocks earned an eight seed and will take on the top-ranked University of Missouri, St. Louis in the first match on Nov. 17 at 11:30 a.m.
Each of the four quarterfinal winners from Friday, Nov. 17 will advance to the semifinals set for 2:30 PM and 5:30 PM Saturday, Nov. 18. The winners of the semifinal matches will face each other on Sunday, Nov. 19 at 12 PM for a shot at being crowned 2023 GLVC Volleyball Champions.
