FAYETTE, Iowa - Peacock Volleyball (6-10, 2-5 GLVC) came close to pulling off a five-set upset over GLVC second-place Rockhurst (Mo.) (12-5, 6-0 GLVC) Friday night in Dorman Memorial Gymnasium. The Hawks scored three of the last four points to win the fifth set and the match 21-25, 25-16, 25-23, 23-25, 15-13.
Erica Conger and Natalie Bystol had career days on the outside. Conger totaled 20.5 points on 16 kills, four aces and a block assist. That marks the most points and kills in the sophomore's career and the most points by a Peacock in a match this season. Conger also had a .342 attack percentage, the fifth-highest by a UIU player this season.
Bystol had a career-high 19 kills to go along with two block assists for the 20-point day. She had the most kills by a Peacock in a match this season. Kailey Porter had double-digit kills as well, totaling 11 in the middle with a .304 attack percentage.
Grace Fruzen tallied 45 assists (nine per set) in 138 attempts for a .326 set percentage. That is the junior's second-most assists in a match this season. She added 13 digs, a service ace and a kill. This marked Fruzen's eighth straight match with a double-double.
Morgan Block totaled 22 digs (4.4 per set) and six assists at libero. She also had three service aces. Addy Vaughn added nine digs and four service aces. Marissa Becker tallied 10 digs and had eight kills.
In the fifth set, UIU jumped out to an early 8-3 lead after a 5-1 run with kills by Porter, Becker and Bystol, along with a Conger ace. Four quick points by the Hawks got them back in it 8-7, and Rockhurst scored three straight to lead, 10-9.
Both teams traded points to tie at 12-12. Back-to-back kills by RU's Ali Olson and Delaney Hope in the middle gave the Hawks a 14-12 lead. After a service error, Hope ended the match with another kill in the middle.
The Peacocks started the match hot, scoring eight of the first nine to lead 8-1 in the first set. UIU used kills by Faith Fisher and Conger, two aces by Block, two kills by Porter and a kill by Fruzen to jump out to the early lead.
Rockhurst battled back to cut the deficit to 17-16, but a kill by Porter and back-to-back Conger service aces pushed the Peacock lead back to 21-16. After a block by Fisher, Fruzen knocked in an ace to win the set, 25-21. Porter tallied five kills and hit .500 in the opening frame.
The Hawks scored the first seven points in the second set to take a commanding early lead, and later pushed it to 14-2. The Hawks finished the set hitting .423 as a team to win it, 25-16.
The third set was a back-and-forth battle, which ended up being the tone for the rest of the match. UIU used a 4-0 run to take a 14-9 lead, but Rockhurst later used a 5-0 run of its own to take a 20-19 advantage. After back-to-back kills by Conger took a two-point lead for the Peacocks, Rockhurst settled back in to score the next five out of six points to win the third set, 25-23.
With the Hawks leading 11-8 in the fourth set, a service error and a block by Becker and Fisher sparked a Peacock run. Two service aces and a Becker kill put the Peacocks ahead, 15-9, after seven straight points. UIU kept scoring periodically throughout the set, and Becker posted the final kill to win it, 25-23. Conger tallied five kills while hitting .455 in the fourth set while Bystol and Becker each added four kills.
Rockhurst outhit UIU, .307-.171, with a 65-57 kills advantage. UIU's service was strong with 14 aces and six service errors, while the Hawks had 11 service aces and 13 errors. The Hawks unblocked the Peacocks 11-6 while outdigging UIU 68-66.
Victoria Gray led Rockhurst in kills with 14, while Chloe Tyrrell added 13 and Hope had 12. Gray hit .429, and Hope hit .476. Olson had eight kills and six blocks in the middle while hitting .500.
Kaitlyn Dumpit recorded 29 assists, and Molly Trachta had 26 assists for the Hawks. Tyrrell led the team in digs with 17, while Abby Boyd had 13.
Upper Iowa wraps up its homecoming week with a matchup against William Jewell (Mo.) (3-14, 2-4 GLVC) on Saturday at 5 p.m. in Dorman Memorial Gymnasium. The Cardinals defeated Truman State (Mo.) (7-10, 3-4 GLVC) in four sets on Friday night.
