FAYETTE, Iowa - Peacock volleyball (10-10, 3-5 GLVC) resumes GLVC competition this week with matchups against Southwest Baptist (Mo.) (14-8, 3-4 GLVC) and Drury (Mo.) (15-6, 5-2 GLVC).
The Peacocks face the Bearcats at the Meyer Sports Center in Bolivar, Missouri, on Friday, Oct. 23 at 6 p.m. Upper Iowa travels to Springfield, Missouri, on Saturday, Oct. 24 to face the Panthers in the O'Reilly Family Event Center at 3 p.m.
Upper Iowa enters this weekend on a four-match winning streak, and has won five of its last seven matches. The four-match winning streak is the longest for the program since 2021. UIU last won five straight matches to start the 2018 season, with the team starting 8-0.
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 GLVCSN. Fans can also refer to the links attached to this story for all live options.
In addition to GLVCSN.com, viewers can catch the Peacocks on the GLVCSN iOS and Android mobile app, as well as the GLVCSN app on Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV and Android TV.
LAST TIME OUT
UIU went 3-0 at the Midwest Region Crossover against Lake Superior State (Mich.) (5-17, 1-9 GLIAC), Thomas More (Ohio) (7-13, 3-6 G-MAC) and Kentucky Wesleyan (5-16, 1-8 G-MAC). It was the second time UIU has gone 3-0 at the crossover, and the Peacocks hold a 9-3 record all-time.
Morgan Block led UIU's defense with 55 digs (5.50/set) and did not record a single serve reception error on 31 attempts. Block also had 13 assists and six service aces. She had a weekend-high 22 digs in the four-set win over Lake Superior State.
Junior setter Grace Fruzen added 85 assists (8.5/set) with 31 digs, a tied team-high eight service aces and six kills. She totaled 30 assists and 15 digs against LSSU and 29 assists against Thomas More. Her setting helped the Peacocks hit .296 as a team against Thomas More and .257 against Kentucky Wesleyan, their third and fourth-highest percentages this season.
Kailey Porter led the Peacocks with 19 kills in the three-set wins against Thomas More and Kentucky Wesleyan. The senior posted 11 kills with a .450 hitting percentage against the Saints and a .467 hitting percentage with eight kills against the Panthers. Freshman Natalie Bystol and sophomore Erica Conger each had 18 kills, while Faith Fisher, Marissa Becker and Gracen Klima each had 16.
The Peacocks were a force at the service line, posting 39 service aces while allowing 17. UIU had a season-high 16 service aces against Thomas More. Amaralyse Rodriguez and Fruzen led UIU on the weekend with eight service aces, while both Block and Avery Agnew each had six.
GLVC PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Block earned GLVC Defensive Player of the Week honors after her performance at the Midwest Region Crossover, and was also named to the All-Tournament Team. She became the second player in program history to earn both Midwest Region Crossover All-Tournament Team and a GLVC weekly honor, joining Zoe Semelroth in 2024.
STATISTICS SUMMARY
Block continues to lead the GLVC in digs per set, averaging 5.48. She's totaled 389 digs this season and is up to 909 in her career. Block also ranks fifth nationally in digs per set and 41st in total digs.
Fruzen has posted 577 assists (8.49/set), which ranks fifth in the GLVC and 73rd in the nation. She has a team-high 30 service aces (0.44/set), which is also tied for fifth in the conference. The junior also has 215 digs (3.19/set) for the second-most on the team, and she is 14th in the GLVC in digs per set.
Bystol leads the team with 182 kills (2.80/set) on a .157 hitting percentage, ranking 11th in the GLVC in kills per set. Porter has posted 152 kills (2.45/set) in the middle with a team-high .324 hitting percentage. The senior ranks 10th in the GLVC in hitting percentage.
Becker has posted 144 kills (2.44/set), and Conger has 128 kills (2.33/set). Agnew has the third-most digs on the team with 138 (1.82/set), while Addy Vaughn has 113 digs (1.59/set) and Becker has 109 digs (1.85/set).
Vaughn has posted 29 aces, Rodriguez has 21 and Block has 20. As a team, the Peacocks are averaging a conference-leading 2.09 aces per set, also ranking 38th nationally. UIU is fifth in the conference in digs per set, averaging 15.88.
AROUND THE GLVC
The conference finished 32-10 at the Midwest Region Crossover against opponents from the G-MAC and GLIAC. The GLVC is 153-54 in the last five crossover events. Upper Iowa was one of seven undefeated teams at the event, joining Missouri-St. Louis, Rockhurst (Mo.), Quincy (Ill.), Missouri S&T, William Jewell (Mo.) and Illinois Springfield.
Indianapolis (19-3, 6-1 GLVC) remains the lone ranked team in the GLVC, tying for No. 23 in this week's AVCA Coaches' Poll. Missouri-St. Louis (16-5, 8-0 GLVC) received 75 votes, the most of any unranked team in the poll.
The Tritons have won 14 straight games and are the lone team to clinch a GLVC Tournament berth. Upper Iowa currently has the second-longest winning streak in the conference at four games. UIndy is tied with Rockhurst (15-6, 6-1 GLVC) in second place.
Two wins separate fourth place and Upper Iowa in 10th place, with Drury and Lewis (Ill.) (12-10, 5-2 GLVC) tied for fourth. Maryville (Mo.) and Truman State (Mo.) each have four wins. Southwest Baptist, Quincy (15-8, 3-5 GLVC) and Upper Iowa are tied with three wins.
ABOUT THE BEARCATS
Southwest Baptist played three five-set matches at the Midwest Region Crossover. SBU lost to Wayne State (Mich.) (11-10, 4-6 GLIAC) before picking up back-to-back reverse sweep wins over Tiffin (Ohio) (3-17, 3-5 G-MAC) and Northwood (Mich.) (4-16, 2-7 G-MAC.
Sophomore outside hitter Gabriela Dupree leads the team with 302 kills (3.68/set) while posting a .229 hitting percentage. She is ranked fourth in the GLVC in kills per set and second in total kills. Dupree also averages 4.21 points per set, ranking third in the conference. Sophomore Julia Marinesi is adding 179 kills (2.71/set).
Another sophomore, setter Allie Hawk, is leading the team in assists with 498 (6.07/set). Freshman Danika Mejico is adding 252 assists (4.20/set). Hawk and Marinesi both lead the team in service aces with 23, while Mejico has 22.
Defensively, freshman Melissa Patel leads SBU with 260 digs (3.42/set) with a .931 serve receive percentage. Dupree is second on the team in digs with 240 (2.93/set) along with 43 blocks. Sophomore middle Kailey Sexton has totaled a team-best 75 blocks.
As a team, the Bearcats are hitting .229, which ranks fifth in the GLVC. They are also holding opponents to a .172 hitting percentage, ranking fourth in the conference.
Head coach James Hanger is in his seventh season with the Bearcats. He has a 78-94 record entering this weekend at Southwest Baptist.
ABOUT THE PANTHERS
Drury dropped two out of three matches at the Midwest Region Crossover, falling to Hillsdale (Mich.) (10-11, 5-4 G-MAC) in five sets and No. 16 Grand Valley State (Mich.) (17-5, 9-1 GLIAC) in three sets. The Panthers won their third match on Saturday in three sets against Saginaw Valley State (Mich.) (14-8, 6-4 GLIAC). Before the crossover, the Panthers had won three straight matches with four wins out of their last five.
Sophomore middle Skylar Hilton leads Drury with 192 kills (2.74/set) and a .386 hitting percentage. She's third in the GLVC and 27th nationally in hitting percentage. Hilton is also second in the GLVC in blocks per set at 1.09 with 76 total blocks. Senior Chaney Barth has 171 kills (2.67/set), and junior Abby Renshaw has added 170 kills (2.39/set).
Junior Jacy Bray is third in the conference and 21st nationally in assists per set at 10.17. She's totaled 722 assists, the fourth-most in the GLVC. Bray also leads the Panthers in digs with 240 (3.38/set), while Renshaw has 215 (3.03/set).
As a team, Drury leads the GLVC and ranks fifth in the nation in digs per set (18.25/set). They also lead the conference in attacks per set (38.73/set) and are second in assists per set (12.66/set). The Panthers are averaging 13.77 kills per set, ranking second in the GLVC and 25th in the nation.
Kelly Richardson is in her first season with Drury, becoming the 10th coach in program history. She succeeded Jenifer Bahner-Hill, who completed her 12-year tenure with the program last season.
