BOLIVAR, Mo. - Peacock volleyball (11-10, 4-5 GLVC) picked up its fifth straight win after defeating Southwest Baptist (Mo.) (14-9, 3-5 GLVC) in four sets (25-19, 25-14, 17-25, 25-20). Grace Fruzen totaled 41 assists, Morgan Block had 21 digs and Faith Fisher knocked down 13 kills in the win.
This marks the longest winning streak for the Peacock volleyball program since 2018, when the team started 8-0. The Peacocks have won six of their last eight volleyball matches.
UIU got the blocking game going early in the match. After trailing 3-2, Kailey Porter's solo block, along with a pair of blocks from her and Fruzen, put the Peacocks up 6-3 early. A kill by Fruzen ended the early 5-0 run.
Fisher closed out the set with three kills in UIU's last five points to win, 25-19. The freshman totaled six kills in the opening set with a .556 hitting percentage. UIU also totaled four team blocks in the opening set.
Upper Iowa used another early 5-0 run in the second set to take a 7-2 lead. A 6-1 run later in the set with kills by Marissa Becker, Erica Conger and Fisher, along with an ace by Fruzen, put UIU up 18-10. After leading 19-13, back-to-back blocks along with back-to-back Porter kills helped UIU end the set on a 6-1 run to win it 25-14.
The Peacocks hit .216 in the set, with most of the kills coming up the middle as Porter posted four kills and a .429 hitting percentage. Fisher added three kills and a .333 hitting percentage. Block totaled a match-high seven digs in the set.
Southwest Baptist's Hannah Jackson got going in the third set, totaling seven kills and a .500 hitting percentage. With SBU leading 13-9, three kills in four points by Hannah helped spark a 7-0 run for the Bearcats. The Peacocks battled back, but Southwest Baptist won the set, 25-17.
The fourth set was back-and-forth, with SBU leading 10-9 early, but a 5-0 run sparked by a kill by Fisher and an Addy Vaughn service ace put the Peacocks up 14-10. UIU later scored four out of five points, capped off by another Vaughn service ace to lead 23-18. After Fisher's 13th kill, the Bearcats were out of rotation, giving Block a game-sealing service ace to win the set, 25-20.
Upper Iowa hit a match-high .289 as a team in the fourth set, led by Porter with four kills on seven attempts for a .571 percentage. Natalie Bystol and Fisher both hit .375 in the set, each with three kills.
The Peacocks ended the match hitting .196 to the Bearcats' .105. Southwest Baptist came into the game hitting .229, ranking fifth in the GLVC, and were holding teams to a .172 attack percentage, ranking fourth in the conference.
Fruzen's 41 assists were her most in a four-set match this season, and her third-most in a match this season overall. It marked her third 40+ assist match, and her previous high in four sets this season was 34 against Lewis. The junior added nine digs, two aces and a kill to her totals.
Fisher's 13 kills came on a .458 attack percentage, the fourth highest for a Peacock with a minimum of 12 kills this year. She also added a solo block and three block assists for a total of 15.5 points.
Bystol tallied 12 kills and a .291 hitting percentage. She added a dig and was 3-for-3 on serve receptions. Porter and Conger both had nine kills, Becker finished with five and Gracen Klima knocked down three.
Block's 21 digs were her fifth-most in a four-set match this season. The reigning GLVC Defensive Player of the Week also had four assists and a service ace. Vaughn totaled a season-high 13 digs to go along with a team-high three service aces. Becker had 14 digs, and Avery Agnew had seven.
Jackson led Southwest Baptist with 12 kills while Gabriela Dupree and Julia Marinesi each had 10. Allie Hawk had 28 assists, and Dupree posted 11 digs for the Bearcats.
Upper Iowa led the match in every category. The team outkilled Southwest Baptist, 53-41, while adding an 8-7 advantage on aces, a 10-8 advantage on blocks, a 49-38 advantage on assists and a 73-55 advantage on digs.
With Friday's win, the Peacocks moved into a tie with Truman State (Mo.) (10-12, 4-5 GLVC) for seventh in the conference standings. The top eight teams make the GLVC Tournament on Nov. 12-14.
The Bulldogs fell in four sets on Friday night to Upper Iowa's Saturday opponent, Drury (Mo.) (16-6, 6-2 GLVC). First serve between the Panthers and the Peacocks is scheduled for 3 p.m. in the O'Reilly Family Event Center.
