FAYETTE, Iowa - The Upper Iowa volleyball team (6-17, 4-6 GLVC) heads into the final stretch of its regular season this weekend, hitting the road for matchups against Illinois Springfield (11-11, 3-6 GLVC) and Quincy (Ill.) (18-5, 7-2 GLVC). First serve on Friday is set for 6 p.m. against the Prairie Stars. Less than 24 hours later, the Peacocks will begin action with the Hawks at 3 p.m. on Saturday. 

LIVE OPTIONS
Fans unable to attend the games this weekend can stay connected with a pair of live options available at UIUPeacocks.com/Live, featuring access to live stats and a pay-per-view webcast through GLVCSN. Fans can also refer to the links attached to this story for all live options. 

In addition to GLVCSN.com, viewers can catch the Peacocks on the GLVCSN iOS and Android mobile app, as well as the GLVCSN app on Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV and Android TV.

LAST TIME OUT
The Peacocks went 1-1 this weekend in their final homestand, falling to Drury (Mo.) on Friday evening before earning a sweep over Southwest Baptist (Mo.) on Saturday afternoon. Upper Iowa dominated from the service line, recording 16 aces across the two matches, including six from senior Lydia Imbrogno against the Bearcats. 

Martha Pace led UIU on the weekend with 17 kills, while Grace Fruzen set up most of the Peacocks' attacks, notching 57 assists (9.50/set) across the two matches.

Defensively, Morgan Block was all over the floor for the Peacocks, recording 39 digs, 24 of which came in the win over SBU. Along the net, Kailey Porter was extremely active herself, earning a solo block and eight block assists. 

Upper Iowa's 12 aces in Saturday's win over Southwest Baptist were the most in a match in over a year, when the Peacocks tallied 14 in a sweep of Lake Erie (Ohio) on Oct. 18, 2024. 

STATISTICAL LEADERS
Pace has continued an impressive senior season throughout GLVC play, recording 227 kills on the season with a mark of 3.83 kills per set against conference foes. Pace ranks eighth in the GLVC in both points per set (3.96/set) and kills per set (3.44/set).

Porter ranks second on the team in both kills and blocks, recording 178 kills and 51 blocks this season. Imbrogno is third on the team with 130 kills. Alexis Moses leads Upper Iowa with 52 blocks. 

Fruzen's assist numbers have steadily climbed throughout her sophomore season, now totaling 628 assists (8.05/set). She ranks fourth in the GLVC in assists per set and fifth in total assists. In GLVC play, Fruzen is averaging 9.76 assists per set. 

Block leads Upper Iowa with 419 digs (5.37/set). The sophomore libero ranks second in the GLVC in digs per set and 16th across Division II. Fruzen and Imbrogno each reached 200 digs on the season in the match against SBU on Saturday. 

AROUND THE GLVC
Missouri-St. Louis (20-4, 10-0 GLVC) kept its perch atop the GLVC standings this past weekend, earning victories over UIndy and Lewis (Ill.) to move its win streak to 13 matches. Rockhurst (Mo.) fell off the pace with UMSL, as the Hawks were swept by Missouri S&T on Friday. 

The Tritons are the lone GLVC team featured in this week's AVCA Coaches Poll, third amongst teams receiving votes with 52. 

Below the Hawks, Quincy (18-5, 7-2 GLVC) and UIndy (17-8, 7-2 GLVC) sit tied for third place. Past that, the table tightens up, as fifth-place Truman State (Mo.) (11-14, 6-4 GLVC) has seven teams within three games of them with two weekends to play. The race for the top eight is still wide open, as teams vie to compete in the GLVC Tournament on Nov. 21-23. 

Peacock fans should be extremely invested in the results of Drury (Mo.) (14-10, 4-5 GLVC) and Lewis (13-11, 4-5 GLVC) over the next two weeks. Upper Iowa sits half a game back from the Panthers and Flyers, just outside the playoff picture in ninth place. 

ABOUT THE PRAIRIE STARS - Friday at 6 p.m.
Illinois Springfield had just one match this past weekend, falling in four sets to Quincy on Saturday. Prior to the matchup with the Hawks, the Prairie Stars had won three straight, headlined by a sweep of Kentucky Wesleyan in the Midwest Region Crossover. 

As a team, Illinois Springfield ranks second in the GLVC with 1.95 aces per set. The Prairie Stars also rank top five in opponent hitting percentage with a mark of .180. 

Outside hitter Makenna Cox leads UIS with 295 kills (3.73/set). She's fourth in the GLVC in kills per set and seventh in total kills. Her 51 kills in the Midwest Region Crossover earned her GLVC Offensive Player of the Week honors two weeks ago. 

Kendall Johnson is second for the Prairie Stars with 201 kills (2.91/set), recording double figures in kills in each of her last three matches. 

Senior Erica Sledge has 630 assists (7.88/set) on the year for Illinois Springfield. She ranks fourth in the GLVC in assists and sits just behind Fruzen in assists per set in fifth place. 

Tuana Yuce and Cox have tallied the most digs for the Prairie Stars this season. Yuce has 290 digs (3.63/set) and Cox has 282 digs (3.57/set) on the season. Each reside in the GLVC's top ten in total digs and digs per set. 

A former AVCA All-American at Arkansas Tech, Laura Alrich is in the midst of her first season as the head coach of UIS. Alrich arrived in Springfield this offseason after leading St. Mary's (Texas) to three conference tournament appearances in four years. 

ABOUT THE HAWKS - Saturday at 3 p.m.
Quincy rides a five-game winning streak into the weekend, as the Hawks have easily dispatched of their opponents as of late, winning 15 of their last 18 sets. The Hawks will first host Truman State on Friday at 6 p.m., before welcoming the Peacocks to Pepsi Arena the following day. 

A mark of 1.98 aces per set leads the GLVC, as the Hawks have had plenty of success from the service line this season. The Hawks' well-balanced lineup also ranks top three in the GLVC in total kills, total assists, and opponent hitting percentage. 

Susanni Beretti headlines the Quincy roster, as the 2024 GLVC First Team All-Conference member leads the Hawks with 375 kills (4.63/set) and 284 digs (3.51/set). Her kills per set marks top the GLVC and ranks sixth nationally. 

Outside hitter Janelle Pye-Blacknard is second on the team in kills with 256 (3.16/set). She also ranks fourth on the team in digs with 255 (3.15/set).

Sophomore Elena Kasavica has tallied 873 assists (10.78/set), once again operating as one of the conference's best setters after being named to the GLVC First Team All-Conference as a freshman. She ranks second in the GLVC in both assists and assists per set, placing 13th nationally in assists per set. 

Kasavica also ranks second on the team in digs with 274 (3.38/set), just ahead of junior libero Lilly Marth's 268 digs (3.53/set).

The Hawks are under the leadership of seventh-year head coach Mark Jones. Jones' teams have a record of 49-8 (86.0%) inside Pepsi Arena throughout his tenure. With two wins this weekend, Quincy would surpass the 20-win mark for the fourth consecutive season.