FAYETTE, Iowa - Upper Iowa (13-11, 6-6 GLVC) defeated Illinois Springfield (7-18, 1-10 GLVC) (19-25, 25-23, 20-25, 25-11, 15-11) after holding the Prairie Stars to 11 points in each of the fourth and fifth sets. The Peacocks posted .320 attack percentage with 11 kills in the fourth set, and a .333 attack percentage in the fifth set with 12 kills.
Erica Conger totaled a career-high 22 kills on a career-best .500 hitting percentage. She also recorded three digs, 23 points and tied Kailey Porter for a team-high two blocks.
Grace Fruzen posted 52 assists with a service ace, 16 digs, a kill and a block. This was her second straight game with 50 or more assists and the fifth of her career.
Libero Morgan Block recorded the team's third-most digs in a five-set match this season with 23. The junior also surpassed the 1,000-career-digs milestone with her 19th dig of the match in the third set. She added seven assists, three service aces and two kills.
Porter recorded 18 kills, an assist, two digs and 19 points. Marissa Becker tallied 10 digs, four kills and two service aces. Gracen Klima notched six kills and a pair of service aces. Avery Agnew had 14 digs.
Illinois Springfield controlled a 14-8 lead off a pair of kills and back-to-back errors by Natalie Bystol in the first set. Upper Iowa later narrowed its deficit to 20-19 off a Prairie Star service error and kills by Porter and Bystol. UIS held UIU scoreless the rest of the set, winning it 25-19 off a Porter attack error.
Conger and Porter each had two kills, putting the Peacocks up 4-0 at the beginning of the second set. UIU jumped out to a 12-3 lead after back-to-back Porter kills. UIS cut the lead down to one late in the set off a kill by Khadijah Blue. However, an error by Alyssa Gray on the next play led to Upper Iowa claiming a 25-23 win.
Porter posted eight kills on a perfect hitting percentage during the set. Fruzen added 14 assists and eight digs. The team recorded a .333 hitting percentage.
The third set was a tight one, as there were a total of seven ties and four lead changes. After tying the Peacocks, 19-19, the Prairie Stars went on a 6-1 run, winning the set 25-20.
Upper Iowa went on an 8-0 run to claim a 14-6 lead in the fourth set after being knotted at six apiece with Illinois Springfield. Becker posted two service aces during the run. UIU later extended its lead to eight off a UIS error and Amaralyse Rodriguez service ace. The Peacocks later won the set 22-11 off a pair of service aces and a kill by Block.
Block totaled three service aces and three digs, while Agnew totaled four digs in that set. Fruzen recorded 10 assists and helped UIU post a .308 hitting percentage in the set.
Becker gave Upper Iowa an 8-5 advantage after recording a kill in the fifth set. Illinois Springfield then cut the deficit to one after outscoring UIU, 5-1, on the next few rallies. Upper Iowa eventually took the lead back to three off two kills by Porter. The Peacocks claimed the victory after winning the set, 15-11, off of Conger's 22nd kill.
Fruzen finished the set with 10 assists. Rodriguez had four kills on a .667 hitting percentage, and Becker had three digs. The team finished with a .333 hitting percentage.
Blue boasted 17 kills and 22 points for the Prairie Stars. Marley Christy ended with 29 assists. Emma Frazier posted 15 digs.
Upper Iowa led Illinois Springfield, 10-3 in service aces. This is the 14th time this season that UIU has out-service-aced teams.
The Peacocks outkilled the Prairie Stars, 64-55, with a 61-54 advantage on assists and a 76-58 advantage on digs. Illinois Springfield outhit Upper Iowa, .250-.204, and outblocked UIU, 18-6.
With Truman State's (Mo.) (13-12, 7-5 GLVC) four-set win over Quincy (Ill.) (17-10, 4-7 GLVC) on Saturday night, the eight-team field for the GLVC Tournament is set with the Peacocks clinching a spot. Upper Iowa returns to Dorman Gymnasium on Saturday, Nov. 7 to face Truman State (Mo.) for seventh-place on Senior Day at 3 p.m.
