The Peacocks split their two matches on the final day of the Capital Classic hosted by the University of Illinois-Springfield on Saturday.  Upper Iowa was swept by Wayne State University (25-23, 25-15, 25-23) in their morning match, but the Peacocks were able to make adjustments and take down William Jewell College in four sets (19-25, 25-20, 28-26, 25-19).  The second split day for UIU pushed their record to 2-2.
 
In their first match of the day, the Peacocks dropped a three-set decision to the Warriors of Wayne State University.  Upper Iowa came out of the gates slowly in sets one and two combining for 17 attack errors while only converting 18 kills. UIU fought hard to rally in the first and third sets dropping the decisions by just two points, but Wayne State controlled the second set to claim a 25-15 win. Chelsea Berry and Anna Winter logged 8 and 7 kills apiece to lead the offense, while Malissa LeClaire paced the attack with 20 assists.  Carlee Ketchum and LeClaire led the defense with 10 digs each and Ashley Larson picked up 9 digs.
 
Upper Iowa bounced back in their final match behind a trio of attackers that registered double-digit kills.  After the Cardinals got a first set win (25-19), the Peacock offense lit up in sets two, three and four grabbing 44 kills to only 12 attack errors.  UIU outlasted WJC in the third set (28-26) after scoring a five-point win in the second set to take a 2-1 lead in the match.  Upper Iowa closed the match in the fourth set with an impressive hitting performance.  UIU knocked down 16 kills and only had one attack error in the deciding set to hit .469.  Alisha VanderWoude recorded a new career-high in kills with 17, while newcomers Haley Poula and Winter posted 12 and 11 kills.  LeClaire handled the setting duties and served up 49 assists, while Larson, the Peacock libero, recorded 24 digs.  Five players notched at least 10 digs in the match including Larson, Gabby Holmes (13), Kelsey Hinrichs (12), LeClaire (10) and Poula (10).
 
Following the final match, Head Coach Aaron Nelson said, "We started a little slow this afternoon and it took us a set to settle in.  Once we figured out William Jewell's focus, we did a nice job of taking their strengths away and making them adjust to our game. We tweaked the lineup a little to start the second set and things started clicking. We have some things to work on as a team, but we are proud of how we responded to the challenges this weekend."
 
The Peacocks will head to Kenosha, Wis. next weekend, Sept. 9-10, to battle in the UW-Parkside Tournament.  UIU will take on the host Rangers and Michigan Technological University on Friday and then toe the line against Northern Michigan University and Lake Superior State University on Saturday.