SPRINGFIELD, Mo. - Upper Iowa volleyball (11-11, 4-6 GLVC) had a five-match winning streak snapped on Saturday in a three-set loss to Drury (Mo.) (17-6, 7-2 GLVC). The Panthers hit .276 with a 5-1 advantage on aces and an 8-2 advantage on blocks to win, 25-17, 25-19, 25-17.
Grace Fruzen totaled 34 assists, 8 digs and four kills in the match, finishing with her third-most assists in a three-set match this season. Morgan Block added 19 digs and had UIU's lone service ace.
Kailey Porter led the UIU attack with 10 kills and a .273 hitting percentage in the middle. Natalie Bystol totaled eight kills, Erica Conger posted seven kills and Faith Fisher had six kills. Marissa Becker had 13 digs with four kills, and Addy Vaughn totaled 12 digs.
Drury jumped on Upper Iowa early, posting a 13-2 lead in the first set, which was later extended to 19-5 with back-to-back aces by Lucy Hafer. The Peacocks battled by scoring 12 of the next 18 points, but it wasn't enough as Drury won the set 25-17.
The Panthers hit a match-high .400 in the second set, led by Abby Renshaw with six kills on a .556 hitting percentage. After back-to-back kills by Kailey Porter brought the Drury lead down to 20-18, the Panthers closed the set, scoring five out of the next six points to win it 25-19.
The third set was back-and-forth, with both teams posting multiple-point runs throughout. With Drury leading 20-17 late, three Peacock attack errors contributed to a 5-0 run to close the set and the match, 25-17.
The Peacocks finished the match with 22 attack errors as a team, tying for their most in a three-set match this season. UIU's one service ace was a season low, and the team's first match with fewer than five since Sept. 25 against Lewis (Ill.).
Both teams were even on kills, 42-42, but Drury finished the match with just eight attack errors. UIU out-assisted Drury 40-38 while the Panthers had a 71-67 advantage on digs.
Renshaw led Drury with 14 kills while Taylor Wood had seven. Jacy Bray totaled 30 assists with 14 digs. Amelia White led the team defensively with 15 digs.
The Peacocks finish the weekend in ninth in the GLVC standings. UIU has the same number of wins as Quincy (Ill.) (17-8, 4-5 GLVC) in eighth, which comes to Fayette on Friday, Oct. 30 at 6 p.m.
UIU will play Illinois Springfield (7-16, 1-9 GLVC) on Saturday, Oct. 31 at 3 p.m. at Dorman Memorial Gymnasium. The Peacocks wrap up the regular season with seventh-place Truman State (Mo.) (11-12, 5-5 GLVC) on Saturday, Nov. 7.
