Box Score

ABERDEEN, S.D. – The Northern State University Wolves jumped out to an early 7-1 lead in the opening set and looked to be in control of the action from the outset, but watched instead as the visiting Upper Iowa University Peacocks rallied to take a five-set thriller (29-27, 17-25, 25-22, 22-25, 15-13) from the host Wolves in Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference volleyball action Friday evening in Wachs Arena.
 
The loss – the third straight for the Wolves – drops NSU to 6-7 overall and 1-5 in NSIC play.  Upper Iowa climbs to 8-7 overall and 2-4 in the loop.
 
Both teams struggled to keep momentum at the net, posting sub-.200 hitting percentages and falling victim to 12 team blocks on each side, save for a solid second set from the Wolves' offense.  Led by the front line of Paula Martins, Konefesi Vaisigano and Carli Peterson, the Wolves knocked down 15 kills while committing just two errors in that set, evening the match score after watching the Peacocks steal the first set in extra points.
 
UIU took the 2-1 lead after the third set, but an Amber Bloom-led NSU charge in the fourth evened the match out once more.  Bloom, who finished with a team-best 18 kills and a .400 attack percentage, had six of those kills in the fourth and 11 in the final two sets combined.  The senior put down four kills in an 8-3 Wolves run that put the Wolves up 13-8.  UIU would tie the set on three occasions late in the match, but were unable to stop the Wolves from forcing the decisive fifth set.
 
Bloom continued the charge in the fifth set, tallying five kills and a block to keep the Wolves in the hunt.  UIU countered with senior right side hitter Sara Vance, who had four kills in that same stretch and 27 on the night.  Vance's final kill of the match evened the set score at 13 apiece, then left it to Kayla Wagner and Nicky Brown for the final kills to close out the battle.
 
Bloom was joined in double digit kill efforts by Peterson (16), Martins (13) and Vaisigano (14), while freshman Morgan Richardson registered a career-high 62 assists.  That effort marked the highest assist total by an NSU player since October, 2009 (Megan Gilbraith, 67 assists).  Martins also had six blocks, and junior Chelsea Chavez added five, while junior libero led four players in double digit digs with 27.
 
Upper Iowa was paced all the way around by Vance's 27-kill, 23-dig, 7-block effort.  Junior setter Skylar Lesan joined NSU's Richardson in the 60-assist club, while also registering five kills for the Peacocks.
 
The Wolves will look to get back in the win column on Saturday, hosting Winona State University in another NSIC match-up.  First serve with the Warriors – four-set winners over the University of Mary on Friday – is set for 3 p.m. in Wachs Arena.