(Crookston, Minn.)- The University of Minnesota, Crookston Volleyball team hosted the Upper Iowa Peacocks tonight in an NSIC match-up. Upper Iowa took the lead early in the first set and held off the Golden Eagles to take a 25-22 set victory. Minnesota, Crookston tied the match 1-1 with a 25-20 victory in the second set. After the break, both teams battled for a set advantage with the score being tied 11 times and the lead changing seven times before UMC took the 25-23 victory. The Golden Eagles struggled in the fourth set offensively as the team attacked at a -.098 with 12 attack errors to let the Peacocks back into the match. In the fifth set, the teams were tied 4-4 before Minnesota, Crookston put Upper Iowa in the rear view mirror to take the set and the match 15-9 (3-2) on a kill by the libero Chelsea Wiesner (DS, 5-8, So., Rochester, Minn.). The match took nearly two hours and saw 28 tie scores and 15 lead changes along with a season-high 30 block assists and 15 total blocks for the University of Minnesota, Crookston.
 
Junior Amanda Swann (OH, 6-0, Jr., Rochester, Mich.) couldn't have picked a better match to have a career-night. The outside hitter led the Golden Eagles offense and tied a career-high with 19 kills. She also finished with a solid .350 (19K-5E-40Ta) attack percentage and knocked down six assisted blocks. Morgan VanGerpen (MH, 6-0, Fr., Overland Park, Kan.) recorded a career performance as well leading UMC and tallying a career-high with eight block assists. Brittany Looker (OH, 5-10, Fr., Rochester, Minn.) followed Swann with 12 kills while Danielle Rueter (OH, 5-9, Sr., Burlington, Wis.) tied a season-high with 11 kills. Setter Paige Mitchell (S, 5-11, So., West Palm Beach, Fla.) led the UMC setting duo with 33 assists and 12 digs. Wiesner tied a match-high with 25 defensive digs and led all players with three service aces in the contest. UMC continues to improve and show they are contenders in the NSIC. This is the first season since 2004 the Golden Eagles have reached double digits in total victories with six more matches still remaining.
 
Upper Iowa was led by Sara Vance who had 19 kills. Skylar Lesan led all setters with 39 assists while libero Danielle Gernes finished with 25 digs. UIU also finished with 15 total team blocks.
 
Minnesota, Crookston is 10-14 overall this season and 4-10 in conference play. Upper Iowa falls to 13-12 overall and 6-9 in the NSIC. The Golden Eagles look for a conference sweep tomorrow when the team hosts Winona State University and former UMC Head Coach Dave Simon. First serve is scheduled for 3 p.m. at Lysaker Gymnasium.
 
For more information, visit the Golden Eagle Athletics website at: www.goldeneaglesports.com.
 
Follow the Golden Eagles on Facebook at Golden Eagle Sports and on Twitter at @UMCAthletics.
 
The University of Minnesota, Crookston is an NCAA Division II Institution and a member of the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC). The Golden Eagle Equestrian team is a member of the Intercollegiate Horse Show Association (IHSA).
 
 
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