Sioux Falls head volleyball coach Joel McCartney was all smiles tonight. The Cougars, who rolled, 25-17, 25-16, 25-15, were near perfect in the second set. USF (11-6, 3-5 NSIC) pounded 13 kills with one error for a .600 mark.
It is the Cougars' first-ever win against Upper Iowa (6-11, 2-6). The Peacocks swept USF at home last season (25-9, 25-15, 25-20).
Junior Samantha Lovell, who had seven kills, went 5-for-5 in the set. “We've talked all week about carrying over the intensity from our practices into our matches,” she said. “Lex (Alexa Reed, 29 assists) was distributing the ball nicely and we were driving aggressively and putting it away.”
Kate Hart floored a match-best nine kills and Emily Johnson finished with eight terminations, upping her career kill total to 977. She is on pace to become the first Cougar to join the 1,000-kill club since Danielle Roers (2010). Michelle Ritland chipped in seven kills and two blocks, one solo.
Freshman Jordan Calef had an astounding match, putting down six kills with a .667 hitting clip (6-0-9). The Cedar Rapids native nearly out-blocked the Peacocks, finishing with a match-best five block assists.
“I love having Jordan up there, her blocks tonight were very aggressive,” Lovell said. “It's nice to have someone else that I can work with in practice and mesh with so well.”
Senior libero Andrea Libero had a light workload, finishing with a match-high 10 digs. She also served up three of the Cougars' eleven aces.
USF never trailed in the first two sets against the shell-shocked Peacocks (6-11, 2-6 NSIC). The Cougars used an Upper Iowa attack error to double-up the visitors in the opening frame, 16-8. A Johnson and Calef combo stuff allowed USF to double-up the Peacocks again at 20-10 before UIU mustered a 5-1 run to get within six points. Reed then corralled an awkward dig and dumped it over the net for set point and a Lovell spike clinched things for the Cougars.
USF jumped to a 4-1 lead in the second frame but the Peacocks would tie it with two kills sandwiched around a bad set by the Cougars. The Cougars used a five-point skein that was capped by a Johnson ace to move ahead 11-5 and take control of the set. USF led by as many as 11 and cruised to the 25-16 victory.
Upper Iowa did make things a bit difficult on USF in the third set, jumping out to a 9-7 lead, but the Cougars caught up to take a 13-12 advantage with three straight kills by Ritland terminations. The Cougars closed out the match on a 10-0 tear to complete the sweep with a 25-15 set three victory.
“This year we've pretty much gone four or five sets with everyone, so it was a nice change to finally be able to go three and put it away,” Lovell said.
Jennifer Mundt paced Upper Iowa with seven kills while Berry tallied six. The Cougars won every statistical category and held UIU to a .097 attack percentage.
USF will host Winona State tomorrow at 4 p.m.
