The Peacock volleyball squad split a pair of four-set matches on the final day of the Capital Classic hosted by the University of Illinois-Springfield. The split improved UIU's overall record to 6-2 after the first two weekends of tournament play.

Upper Iowa rallied from a 1-0 deficit in their first match against the Bearcats of McKendree University to score a 3-1 win. An hour after defeating McKendree, the Peacocks lined up against No. 8 Northwest Missouri State University for their final contest of the weekend. UIU won the second set, but the Bearcats came out on top in the third and fourth sets to claim victory.

The Peacocks will host the Rangers of the University of Wisconsin-Parkside on Tuesday at 6 p.m. in their final non-conference match of the regular season. 

Upper Iowa 3 - McKendree 1 (23-25, 25-17, 25-22, 25-22)
Upper Iowa's offense struggled in the opening set tallying just 11 kills to eight attack errors, but the Peacocks picked up their focus on the attack and averaged over 15 kills/set in the final three frames while averaging just six attack errors to fuel the win. 

Madelyn Rettler registered 17 kills and Maggie Streightiff had 9 kills, but the offense was fueled through UIU's middles. Zoe Semelroth recorded 14 kills with a .522 hitting percentage and Carlee Dove grabbed 8 kills with a .636 hitting percentage. The pair combined for just three attack errors. 

Nicole Pozorski handed out 44 assists and added 13 digs, while Charisma Herr posted 22 digs to pace the back line. Rettler also contributed 12 digs to go with her team-high kills. Semelroth and Streightiff played big at the net as well with 5 and 4 blocks, respectively.

No. 8 Northwest Missouri State 3 - Upper Iowa 1 (25-18, 15-25, 25-15, 25-15)
The nationally-ranked Bearcats jumped out to a 1-0 lead with a seven-point win in the first set, but the Peacocks answered with a nine-point win behind an impressive 12-kill, one-error set. UIU's efficiency in the second set showed in a team hitting percentage of .379 in the frame. Northwest Missouri State controlled the third and fourth sets as they held Upper Iowa to just 12 kills combined while tallying 32 kills in the same sets.

Streightiff (11) and Rettler (9) combined for 20 kills in the match set up by Pozorski's 27 assists. Herr and Pozorski picked up 15 and 11 digs, respectively. Semelroth claimed another five blocks and Pozorski denied four shots at the net.