FAYETTE, Iowa – Winona State University lined up against Upper Iowa University on Thursday night for the Warriors' sixth matchup against a Top 25 opponent in the month of October. Three of those tilts went Winona State's way, including a pair of sweeps, but on Halloween, the Warriors suffered a ghoulish fate as the Peacocks came away with a straight-set victory.
WSU has only been swept three times this season, all coming to Top 25 foes, as the Warriors fall to 17-5 (9-5 NSIC) with the setback. Upper Iowa improves to 16-6 (8-6 NSIC) with its second triumph over a Top 25 team this year.
The Warriors have dropped three straight meetings with the Peacocks, dating back to last season when Upper Iowa snapped WSU's five-match winning streak in the series.
Upper Iowa completed the sweep by set scores of 29-27, 25-19, 25-22.
After a grueling first game loss, the Warriors never seemed to regroup and were unable to separate themselves from the Peacocks despite opening up leads in both sets two and three.
Paige Christopher floored six of her team-high 13 kills in set one that saw the score tied on 19 occasions and featured 10 lead changes. Cori Meyers had a big kill late for WSU to fight off set point and even the game at 25-25. The sides alternated the next five points before Upper Iowa's Kaitlin Niedert downed the game-winner.
Winona State led by a 4-1 count in set two and a 6-2 margin in set three only to see the Peacocks put together extended rallies midway through each game to take hold of the lead for good. With the Warriors clinging in life in set three, the home team rattled off an 8-1 run to claim a 15-10 edge and Upper Iowa never relinquished the lead.
The Warriors entered the match ranked ninth in the country with a .268 hitting percentage, and weren't far off that mark on Thursday (.259), but simply weren't effective enough to slow the Peacocks. Upper Iowa bested its season average (.266) but a wide margin in the win (.316).
UIU's .316 attacking percentage was the highest allowed by the Warrior defense since yielding a .339 clip in a sweep by Northern State. WSU had held its opponents below the .200 mark in each of its last three matches.
The Peacocks also had the edge defensively in blocks (5-3) and digs (48-45). Megan Flom and Madison Rizner recorded two blocks apiece, and combined for 19 kills, while Becca Pagel and Sarah Suits tallied 11 digs each.
The Warriors will have a chance to quickly shake off Thursday's loss when they return to their home court on Saturday to host (RV) Minnesota State Mankato. First serve is slated for 2 p.m. in McCown Gymnasium.
