FAYETTE, Iowa - The Peacock women's volleyball team (7-10, 3-5 GLVC) competes at the 18th annual Midwest Region Crossover this weekend at the Hammond Sportsplex in Hammond, Indiana. The regional volleyball tournament features 37 NCAA Division II Midwest Region programs, with 14 from the GLVC, 12 from the G-MAC and 11 from the GLIAC.
With the No. 10 seed out of the GLVC, Upper Iowa starts play against the GLIAC's Lake Superior State (Mich.) (4-14, 1-9 GLIAC) on Friday at 9 a.m. The Peacocks will then face a G-MAC opponent in Thomas More (Ohio) (7-10, 3-6 G-MAC) at 2 p.m. on Friday. Upper Iowa wraps up play on Saturday at 9 a.m. against Kentucky Wesleyan (4-14, 1-8 G-MAC).
LIVE OPTIONS
Fans unable to attend the games this weekend can stay connected with a pair of live options available at UIUPeacocks.com/Live, featuring access to live stats and a pay-per-view webcast through BallerTV. An Event Pass to watch all games costs $40. Fans can also refer to the links attached to this story for all live options.
LAST TIME OUT
The Peacocks went 2-1 amid the homecoming festivities with a four-set win over Clarke (8-14), a close, five-set loss to Rockhurst (Mo.) (12-6, 6-1 GLVC) and a three-set win over William Jewell (Mo.) (3-15, 2-5 GLVC).
Erica Conger led the Peacocks in scoring with 46 total points (4.18/set), plus 36 kills and a .363 attack percentage. She also recorded seven service aces and six blocks. The sophomore totaled a career-high 20.5 points with a career-high 16 kills in the five-set loss to Rockhurst. She hit a team-high .458 with 12 kills in the win over Clarke as well.
Freshman Natalie Bystol led the Peacocks in kills with 39 (3.11/set) and added four block assists for 41 points (3.73/set). She led the Peacocks in kills against both Clarke and Rockhurst with 13 and a career-high 19, respectively. Kailey Porter posted 21 kills (2.63/set) in the middle with a team-high 10 against William Jewell.
Caylee Rowley started the week against Clarke with a 40-assist, 10-dig performance while Alexis Moses added eight kills and a career-high eight blocks in the middle. Rowley's 40 assists were the most in a four-set match for the Peacocks this season.
Junior setter Grace Fruzen totaled 84 assists (10.5/set) playing in the matches against Rockhurst and William Jewell. She posted a .384 set/assist percentage and helped the Peacock offense to a season-high .317 attack percentage in the three-set win over William Jewell.
Morgan Block tallied 47 digs in the three matches, tallying 22 against Rockhurst. She added five service aces and has now posted 20 or more digs in 10 matches this season.
STATISTICS SUMMARY
Block has posted 334 digs (5.48/set) this season with a 93.1% reception percentage at libero. She leads the GLVC and ranks fifth nationally in digs per set. In conference-only play, Block is averaging 5.53 digs per set, which ranks second in the GLVC. Avery Agnew has 117 digs (1.77/set) and Marissa Becker has 100 digs (1.92/set).
Fruzen has accumulated 492 assists (8.48/set) this season with 184 digs (3.17/set) and 22 service aces. The junior ranks fifth in the GLVC in assists per set and 15th in digs per set. In GLVC play, she is averaging 8.87 assists per set, also ranking fifth.
Bystol leads the Peacock attack this season with 164 kills (2.83/set) while adding 63 digs. She ranks 10th in the GLVC in kills per set. Porter has totaled 133 kills (2.38/set), Becker has 128 kills (2.46/set) and Conger has 110 kills (2.24/set). Porter has a team-high .308 hitting percentage, ranking 12th in the GLVC.
Moses leads the team in blocks with 40, including a team-high four solo blocks. Freshman lefty Addy Vaughn leads the team in service aces with 27, which ranks 10th in the conference.
AROUND THE GLVC
Missouri-St. Louis clinched a GLVC Tournament berth this week and sole possession of first place in the conference as the league's lone undefeated team in GLVC play. After defeating Upper Iowa in five sets, Rockhurst fell to Truman State on Saturday in four sets for its first conference loss.
The Hawks are tied with No. 22 UIndy (17-2, 6-1 GLVC) for second in the GLVC standings. The first-place Tritons have won 11 straight matches, and UIndy has won five straight matches. Drury (Mo.) (14-4, 5-2 GLVC) and Lewis (Ill.) (11-8, 5-2 GLVC) are tied for fourth.
The Peacocks are in the mix from the 6-12 range of the conference standings, where all teams are separated by a couple of wins. Three of UIU's last five conference opponents are within this range, with Drury and Illinois Springfield (4-14, 1-7 GLVC) outside of it. The top eight teams in the conference make the GLVC Tournament.
MIDWEST CROSSOVER HISTORY
The Peacocks are 6-3 all-time at the Midwest Crossover since joining the GLVC for the 2023 season. UIU went undefeated in 2024 for its best finish at the Crossover. The Peacocks are 4-2 against the G-MAC and 2-1 against the GLIAC.
Upper Iowa finished 2-1 last season at the Midwest Crossover, falling to Tiffin (Ohio) in three sets on Friday before picking up wins over Kentucky Wesleyan in three sets and Roosevelt (Ill.) in four sets on Saturday.
Lydia Imbrogno led the Peacocks at last season's Midwest Crossover with 34 kills while Becker added 33 kills on the outside. Porter had 20 kills, and Moses totaled 18 kills. Fruzen posted 98 assists (9.8/set), and Block had 46 digs (4.6/set).
ABOUT THE LAKERS - Friday at 9 a.m.
Lake Superior State snapped a 10-match losing streak this past Saturday with a three-set win over Roosevelt (5-12, 2-8 GLIAC). Shea Berisoff hit a season-high 10 kills with a .471 attack percentage, Zaira Missipo scored a season-high nine kills and Avery Headworth totaled a season-high 18 assists in the win.
Second-year outside hitter Elisa Rizzoli leads the team with 141 kills (2.61/set) with a .173 attack percentage. She also has a team-high 15 service aces. Berisoff has 99 kills (1.71/set) and Rachel Steele has 89 kills (1.65/set) for the Lakers.
Azra Bilgiçer, a native of Turkey, leads the team in assists with 184 (4.6/set). Ava Tarsi is adding 135 assists (3.38/set), and Headworth has 118 assists (3.28/set). Rizzoli is also the team's leader in digs with 193 (3.57/set), while Ava Wells has 124 (2.76/set). Fourth-year middle hitter Morgan Deming has totaled 50 blocks (0.82/set), ranking sixth in the GLIAC.
The Peacocks are 8-0 against Lake Superior State dating back to 2011. The Peacocks have won the last five matches in three sets, with only one match going to four sets in 2014.
Head coach Chelsea Cooke-Tripp is in her first season with the Lakers. She served as an assistant coach at Adams State (Colo.) from 2023-25, coaching three RMAC All-Conference players.
ABOUT THE SAINTS - Friday at 2 p.m.
Thomas More is 2-2 in its last four matches with a three-set win over Kentucky Wesleyan and a three-set victory over Malone (Ohio) (4-14, 2-7 G-MAC) this past Friday. The Saints also swept Lake Superior State earlier this season in nonconference play on Sept. 5 and have another win over Kentucky Wesleyan on Sept. 11.
Sophomore outside hitter Reagan Martin leads the Saints with 169 kills (3.13/set). Martin is fifth in the G-MAC in kills per set and sixth in points per set. Senior Ceci Kamer has 98 kills (2.0/set) and freshman Sadie Stuart has 96 kills (1.75/set). Stuart also leads the team in blocks with 44 (0.80/set), ranking 10th in the G-MAC.
The Saints run a two-setter system with junior Paige Stockhoff totaling 221 assists (4.42/set) and freshman Megan Rogers totaling 216 assists (3.93/set). Junior Taylor Stivers leads the team in digs with 185 (3.43/set) while adding a team-high 19 service aces. Martin also has 135 digs (2.5/set).
Thomas More enters the game led by assistant coach Jim Delong.
ABOUT THE PANTHERS - Saturday at 9 a.m.
Kentucky Wesleyan snapped an 11-game losing streak on its Homecoming Saturday this past weekend with a four-set win against Malone. KWC has played McKendree (Ill.) (2-16, 0-8 GLVC) and Illinois Springfield this season, losing to both at the Kentucky Wesleyan Invitational.
The Panthers have a solid one-two attack in sophomore outside hitter Emmy Goering and senior middle Hadley Wolfe. Goering has posted 154 kills (2.48/set), and Wolfe has 151 kills (2.36/set) with a team-best .332 hitting percentage, ranking fourth in the G-MAC. Sophomore Abigail Butterworth has added 106 kills (1.71/set).
Junior setter Ana De Sevilla-Acosta has 302 assists (4.79/set), while Grace Lewis has added 244 assists (3.81/set). Junior libero Sophie Spanier leads the team in digs with 213 (3.38/set), while Goering and Lewis each have 108 digs. Freshman middle Mackenzie Bristol is the team's leader in blocks with 44 (0.69/set).
The Panthers are solid at the service line, ranking second in the G-MAC in aces per set, averaging 1.81. De Sevilla-Acosta leads the team with 23 service aces, ranking seventh in the G-MAC in aces per set. Kentucky Wesleyan has seven players with 10 or more aces this season.
Upper Iowa and Kentucky Wesleyan met at last season's Midwest Crossover, with the Peacocks picking up a three-set win. Upper Iowa finished the match hitting .326 while holding the Panthers to .059, with UIU holding a .500 to -.04 hitting percentage advantage in the third set. The Peacocks won two of the three sets by 25-12 scores.
Head coach Alejandra Jimenez is in her fourth full-time season with Kentucky Wesleyan after serving as an interim head coach in 2022. She is a native of Puerto Rico and was a four-year starter for Louisiana Tech during her college career.
