The University of Illinois Springfield volleyball team will host the 2018 Capital Classic, presented by Crowne Plaza/Holiday Inn Express, this Friday and Saturday at the TRAC on the UIS campus.
 
UIS head coach Trey Salinas is looking to make the Capital Classic one of marquee tournaments in the Midwest Region, and this year's field is the toughest in the three years that the event has taken place. Besides the Prairie Stars, the other teams in the field will be Cedarville (Ohio), McKendree (Ill.), Missouri Western, Northern Michigan, and Walsh (Ohio).
 
All six teams finished the 2017 season with a winning record, and five of the six had over 20 victories on the year. The six squads had a combined winning percentage of .663, and in their respective conferences, they all had top-five finishes and a .771 winning percentage. Two teams, McKendree and Missouri Western, earned NCAA Division II Tournament bids, and Missouri Western was co-champions in the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association.
 
The six programs at the Capital Classic are all expected to be strong again this season. UIS and McKendree are both preseason top-four picks in the GLVC, and Missouri Western is sitting just outside the national top-25 ranking. The other three teams were also picked high in their respective conference divisions. UIS, Missouri Western, and Walsh all return all six starters from last season.
 
UIS will enter the year with its highest expectations in program history after going 22-11 last season and reaching the GLVC Tournament Semifinals. The Prairie Stars were picked third in the preseason GLVC poll, its highest ranking in program history.
 
On Friday, the Prairie Stars are scheduled to face Walsh at 1 p.m. and Cedarville at 7:30 p.m. On day two of the event, UIS faces Missouri Western at 1 p.m. and Northern Michigan at 7:30 p.m. The tournament will start at 9 a.m. each day, and there will be six contests on both Friday and Saturday. A complete schedule and more information can be found at www.uisprairiestars.com/capitalclassic.