FAYETTE, Iowa – The Quincy University women's volleyball team saw its five-match winning streak come to an end Friday night, falling to Upper Iowa University in a five-set battle, 18-25, 25-22, 24-26, 25-23, 13-15, inside Dorman Memorial Gym. The Peacocks defeated Quincy for the first time in the last four meetings between the programs, dropping the Hawks to 17-9 overall and 4-6 in GLVC play.
Upper Iowa gained the upper hand midway through the opening set. The teams remained within a point of each other through the early stages, but the Peacocks began to create separation with several short runs and eventually built a 15-10 advantage. Quincy continued to battle and trimmed the deficit to four, but UIU pulled away again down the stretch and scored the final two points to take the opener 25-18. The Hawks struggled to establish their offense, hitting .088 with 10 kills and seven errors, while Upper Iowa hit .300 with 14 kills and five errors.
Quincy responded with a much stronger start in the second set, jumping ahead 6-1. The Hawks maintained control through the middle of the frame, stretching the advantage to 14-7 before the Peacocks began to chip away. Upper Iowa eventually cut the margin to three at 20-17 and later pulled within 23-22, but Quincy held off the comeback. Monika Bíliková delivered a late kill before the Hawks finished off the set 25-22 to even the match. Quincy improved to .231 offensively with 15 kills, while holding Upper Iowa to just .029 with nine kills and eight errors.
The third set featured the tightest action of the night, with 14 ties and eight lead changes. Neither team was able to build much separation as the frame worked its way into the 20s. Quincy found itself within striking distance throughout and had the score tied at 24-24, but Upper Iowa came away with the final two points to escape with a 26-24 victory and retake the match lead. The Hawks posted their best offensive set of the night, hitting .256 with 14 kills and only three errors, but UIU countered with 20 kills on .232 hitting.
With their backs against the wall, the Hawks responded again in the fourth. Quincy jumped out to a quick 4-0 advantage and maintained the lead through the opening portion of the set before Upper Iowa gradually worked its way back. The Peacocks eventually surged ahead 15-13, but the Hawks answered and the teams continued trading momentum into a 22-22 tie.
Quincy came through with the final push. After Upper Iowa took a 23-22 advantage, the Hawks scored the final three points, with
Aysem Kocaalp delivering the set-clinching kill to secure a 25-23 victory and force a decisive fifth set. Quincy hit .135 with 11 kills and six errors, while Upper Iowa finished at .122 with 15 kills and nine errors.
The fifth set was another back-and-forth battle. Neither team created much separation early as the teams worked their way to a 10-10 tie. Upper Iowa then scored three straight points to build a 13-10 advantage, but Quincy refused to go away. The Hawks fought back within one at 14-13 before the Peacocks put away the final point to take the set 15-13 and the match. Quincy hit .182 with seven kills and three errors in the fifth, while Upper Iowa hit .208 with eight kills and three errors.
The match was extremely even statistically. Quincy actually outhit Upper Iowa .183 to .176 despite being edged 66-57 in kills. The Hawks committed seven fewer attack errors, 25-32, and held an 11-9 advantage in total blocks while UIU narrowly won the defensive battle with 84 digs to Quincy's 82. The biggest difference came at the service line, where Upper Iowa recorded 11 aces compared to five for Quincy.
Erin Matzke led a balanced Quincy attack with 12 kills on .375 hitting while adding four block assists for 14 points. Bíliková continued her strong play in the middle with 11 kills and just two errors on 23 swings for a .391 hitting percentage, adding a team-high six block assists and 14 points.
Olivia Curry also finished with 11 kills while hitting .269.
Selin Turgut recorded 10 kills and 10 digs for her ninth double-double of the season while setting a career high with five total blocks.
Macey Rocco directed the offense with 47 assists and collected a career-high 17 digs for her 11th double-double of the year.
Amber Glen led Quincy with 20 digs.
Kocaalp finished with 11 kills, a team-high three service aces and 17 digs to record her 10th double-double of the season. Despite struggling offensively with 11 attack errors, she still finished with a team-high 15 points and added two block assists.
The Hawks will look to bounce back Saturday when they remain on the road to take on Truman State University. First serve is scheduled for 6:00 PM.
