FAYETTE, Iowa - The Upper Iowa volleyball team begins its 2026 campaign this weekend, heading south to Jackson, Tennessee, for four matches at the Union University Volleyball Classic. The Peacocks will face Lane College (Tenn.) and Tusculum (Tenn.) at 4 p.m. and 6 p.m. on Friday, then UIU will play Auburn Montgomery (Ala.) and Union (Tenn.) at 9 a.m. and 1 p.m. on Saturday. 

Sarah Hull enters her second season as the head coach of the Peacock program after serving as the interim last season. The Peacocks went 7-9 under her leadership in 2025. Hull added assistant coach Dillan Baum to the staff, who previously served as an assistant coach at Illinois College for two seasons.

"I'm really proud of how Coach Baum and I have built personal relationships with our athletes while upholding a standard, setting boundaries and having honest, hard conversations with players when needed," Hull said. "We want to make sure we're upholding the standard that we expect to have in our program."

The Peacocks brought in nine newcomers and returned 10 players from 2025's team. With this combination, Coach Hull feels the team is deeper than it's ever been.

"I think the depth of this roster is something I've never seen before," Hull said. "It's exciting to be able to look down the bench or even just look at my roster and feel like I could put every single person in and every single person could compete. Our biggest key this fall is just staying healthy. We have to stay healthy mentally and physically, and we have to be ready to compete."

MEET THE PEACOCKS: DEFENSE
The Peacocks' top returner from a season ago is Morgan Block, who set the program season record in digs per set with 5.32. The junior from Sumner played in all 26 matches last season as UIU's starting libero with 463 total digs, the 10th most in a season in program history. 

"She's been outstanding all fall," Hull said. "We're really excited to get her back out in the libero jersey this year. She is, in my opinion, one of the best defenders in the conference. She's scrappy, she's quick and her energy is very contagious for our team. She's a rally saver, keeping balls alive, and she's a very frustrating libero to be on the other side of because she's not going to let a ball die without going for it. I think she's going to look to try to break her own record this year. That's her goal."

The team also features five other liberos, including two freshmen in Addy Vaughn and Claire Edwards. Amaralyse Rodriguez returns to the team, and transfer Avery Agnew is back in Fayette. Agnew spent her freshman season with the Peacocks before going to Madison College last season. She was a Second Team All-Region selection for the Wolfpack after breaking the school record for digs in a season with 676 (5.01/set).

"All five of them make our gym the toughest gym to play in," Hull said. "Our offense has a really tough time at practice trying to score against our own defense. It makes hitting in an actual game against another opponent feel like there's a lot more space, since our defense covers so much in practice. The biggest keys for our defense right now are Morgan Block and Avery Agnew. I think it's pretty cool that we get to have two record-breaking liberos in our own gym."

MEET THE PEACOCKS: SETTERS
Grace Fruzen returns after being UIU's top setter last season. She enters the season ranked seventh all-time in assists per set (6.75) in program history. During her sophomore campaign last season, Fruzen totaled 710 assists (8.16/set) and had two matches where she totaled a career-high 53 assists.

"Having Grace back is another huge blessing," Hull said. "Our junior class is truly outstanding all across the board, so it's nice to have them come back with some experience while still being young enough that they have time to grow, which is awesome."

The Peacocks also added a transfer from Missouri Western State, Caylee Rowley, to the room. Rowley was a Second Team All-State selection at Waverly High School in Nebraska before her college career.

"Both of our setters look great," Hull said. "They run our offense seamlessly. I think our setters are also really strong on the defensive end. She's a great leader for our team, and the girls really look up to her. She's stepped into that role beautifully after the spring season and has really found her voice on our court. Caylee has come in and also done the same thing. She may be new, but she doesn't feel new. She looks like she's been here for a really long time."

MEET THE PEACOCKS: OUTSIDE HITTERS
At outside hitter, the Peacocks will have to replace Martha Pace and Lydia Imbrogno, who were No. 1 and No. 3 on the team in kills last season, respectively. Junior Marissa Becker and sophomore Erica Conger will help step into that role this season as returning Peacocks.

Becker played 11 matches with 69 kills (2.54/set) and 21 digs last season.

"Marissa Becker is going to be key for us this year," Hull said. "She was injured last fall with some shoulder issues, but she's coming back better than ever. She's faster than fast, and she has one of the heaviest arms we've got. Marissa's just a workhorse. She wants to be the best version of herself for this team, and she wants to put forward everything she can do. She is a team player who is truly a coach's dream to work with."

Conger saw a bit more playing time after appearing in 17 matches last season, totaling 64 kills and 13 blocks. 

"We're looking at her on the right side," Hull said. "She played there a little bit last year and has really adapted to that role. She has a wicked arm down the line and takes some really good swings."

A couple of newcomers who are also looking to fill in on the outside are freshmen Natalie Bystol and transfer Gracen Klima. Bystol was a two-time First Team All-Conference selection at Shawano High School in Wisconsin and finished her career with 1,037 kills while adding 602 digs and 77 blocks.

"Natalie has a heavy arm, and I would consider her to be a very big game changer for us moving forward," Hull said. "She's a little bit taller than our standard outside at 5-foot-10, while most of our outsides are 5-foot-8, so she gives us a little more reach on the ball and a little bit bigger block on that outside pin. Natalie's the quiet killer. She's not loud or in your face, but when she comes up, she comes up big. She's going to score some big points for us."

Klima transferred to UIU from Lincoln Memorial University in Tennessee, and she spent this past spring season with the Peacocks. In high school, she was a Second Team All-State selection, finishing her career with 1,009 kills, 683 digs and 139 aces. 

"She fits in right at home," Hull said. "Gracen is a ray of sunshine. She plays big, takes up space and makes really good plays."

MEET THE PEACOCKS: MIDDLE BLOCKERS
The Peacocks return experience in the middle with senior Kailey Porter and graduate Alexis Moses. Porter was second on the team in kills last season with 200 (2.33/set) while adding 59 digs. Moses totaled 123 kills, and both women tied for the team lead in blocks with 61 each. 

"They're big dogs," Hull said. "We have talked constantly about making sure we pass well enough because we have two of the strongest forces on our team coming out of the middle. They are some serious threats in our offense if we can stay in system enough to use them. We're excited to have them back and very blessed that Alexis decided to take a fifth year and come back for one more season with us."

SCHEDULE PREVIEW
This week's trip to Jackson, Tennessee, will be the furthest the Peacocks have traveled for an opening tournament since the Alaska trip in 2022. It's also the first time the Peacocks have gone south since 2021, when they competed at the Missouri S&T Miner Invitational. This will also mark the first time UIU has played any of its four opponents in program history. 

"Tennessee really came about because of how late Upper Iowa's classes begin," Hull said. "We don't start until next week, so we wanted to take the girls somewhere we've never been before and probably will never go again. We wanted to give them a little more of an experience since we had the flexibility to do that before school started. We're also excited for the matches down there and will face some strong challenges early. That will allow us to build confidence and see the speed that Division II volleyball provides."

After this weekend, the Peacocks will face some tough competition at the Sioux Falls Classic in South Dakota on Sept. 4-5. Upper Iowa will take on No. 8 Washburn, who was picked at the top of the MIAA preseason poll, along with Emporia State, who received votes in the AVCA preseason poll. 

"I think the second weekend is going to be our biggest challenge of nonconference play," Hull said. "Washburn and Emporia State will be two really tough matchups. We've talked with our team about how we don't need to be perfect before GLVC play, but we do need to learn. Those matches will provide good opportunities for us to learn and pinpoint areas we need to improve before conference play."

On the GLVC schedule, the Peacocks face five teams at home that made the GLVC Tournament last season, including three of the top four teams. UIU starts GLVC action on the road against Maryville (Mo.) on Sept. 18 with the first home game on Sept. 25 vs. Lewis (Ill.).

ABOUT THE DRAGONS - Friday at 4 p.m.
Lane College is coming off a 4-32 campaign in 2025, winning three conference games. The Dragons return one student-athlete from last year's team. Head coach Jeannette Williams will lead the young Dragon squad in her first year with the program.

ABOUT THE PIONEERS - Friday at 6 p.m.
Tusculum finished 9-16 last season with seven wins in conference play. The Pioneers were picked seventh out of 12 teams in the South Athletic Conference Preseason Coaches' Poll. 

The Pioneers return a pair of freshmen who were key contributors last season: Mary Katherine Hall and Mackenzie Land. Hall totaled 203 digs last season, which was the fourth-most on the team. Land was the team's top outside hitter with 211 kills (2.32/set). 

Head coach Hannah Barrett enters her third year coaching the team. She has a 22-30 record in entering this year after two seasons with the program. 

ABOUT THE WARHAWKS - Saturday at 9 a.m.
Auburn Montgomery finished last season 3-25 and returns its top middle blocker in Jaslyn Montgomery. The sophomore had 112 kills during her freshman campaign. Setter Addison Vinson is also back after totaling 420 assists (4.12/set) last season. 

First-year head coach Breylee Linder starts her tenure with the Warhawks this weekend. The fourth head coach in the program's history previously served as the head coach at Mississippi University for Women over the last two seasons. 

ABOUT THE BULLDOGS - Saturday at 1 p.m.
Head coach Emma Carter is in her inaugural season at Union, leading a team that finished last year's campaign 5-22. The 2026 team is composed of nine returners and eight newcomers. 

The team returns Elizabeth Gilbert and Parker Goff, who were the two kill leaders last season with 253 kills and 173 kills, respectively. The Bulldogs were picked ninth in the Gulf South Conference preseason poll.