Upper Iowa volleyball hosted Northwest Missouri State in their home opener Friday night, falling by a score of 3-1. The teams battled evenly through the majority of the match, as three of the four sets were decided by two points. UIU shifted to 5-5 on the season while NMSU improved to 5-4 overall.
 
The Peacocks took set one from the Bearcats in a 26-24 decision, but then fell in three straight sets by scores of 27-25, 25-16 and 28-26.
 
Both squads struggled offensively,as the Peacocks recorded a .060 hitting percentage and the Bearcats mustered a .176 percentage at the net.
 
Northwest Missouri State held a big presence at the net as they put up 19 blocks.
 
The Bearcats held a 15-11 lead in set one, but the Peacocks went on a 6-1 burst to take a 17-16 lead. As the two teams went back and forth, it was UIU who grabbed set one after finishing on a 4-1 run. A service ace from Martha Pace and kill from Zoe Semelroth sealed the team's two-point victory.
 
Set two was another close match, but this time the roles were reversed as it was the Bearcats who finished the segment on a 4-1 streak, fueled by four kills.
 
The visitors commanded set three as they started off with a 5-1 lead, and later reeled off nine unanswered points to have a 19-12 advantage. They hit a game-high .242 at the net.
 
Northwest Missouri started off set four with a 7-1 lead, but Upper Iowa showed their resilience as they went on a 6-1 run mid-set to take the 14-13 lead. The Peacocks trailed 24-21, but made the Bearcats work for their win as the home team strung together four straight points behind a kill from Lydia Imbrogno, two rejections at the net and an attack error on the visitors.
 
With the game tied at 26 apiece, NMSU delivered their dominance with two straight kills to take the set 28-26 and earn their first win of the weekend.
 
Zoe Semelroth paced the Peacocks with 13 kills, followed by Lydia Imbrogno and Marissa Becker with nine.
 
Alexis Moses recorded seven blocks, Nicole Pozorski tallied 38 assists and two aces, while McKenna Diermeier collected 18 digs.
 
The Peacocks are back at home tomorrow at 3 p.m. against Winona State.