Prior to senior Regan Peltier’s final match at Hearnes Center, she knew it would be a hard night.
“I kept thinking in my head, ‘you gotta do good, you can’t cry, Regan, you gotta keep it together,” Peltier said. “It was emotional, to say the least.”
The game ended with a 3-0 sweep over South Carolina for the Missouri volleyball team, making it the perfect ending for senior night.
The lone senior’s final year on the volleyball team will be one to remember.
After four years of waiting to play against her long-time best friend Kinsey Batten, setter for Missouri State, it finally became a reality when the two teams were matched to play each other in the first round of the NCAA tournament. The Tigers posted a 3-1 win over the Missouri State Bears.
Peltier finished the night with a double-double. Her 14 kills were a season-high tie for second.
The win over the Bears placed Mizzou and Kansas against each other in the second round, a long-time rivalry that Peltier had hoped to experience. Although the match ended in a loss and marked the end of the season, volleyball is far from being out of her life.
Peltier has one year left at Mizzou to complete her accounting degree. She plans on studying abroad in the Netherlands and completing an accounting internship with a local business in Columbia. She has hopes to join co-ed adult volleyball leagues in the future and will “still come around” to games next year.
The outside hitter’s absence from the team won’t go unnoticed. As one of the team captains, she played an integral part in the team and finished her final season with 237 kills.
One of Peltier’s most successful matches was against Ole Miss. She scored a season high of 16 kills, three aces, and 18.5 points against the Rebels and helped lead the team to a 3-1 victory.
“She’s steady, consistent and solid,” coach Wayne Kreklow said. “And every team has to have someone like that. Her value is that she does everything pretty well.”
Her presence off the court was strong as well. She made fall SEC academic honor roll twice and was recently named to the SEC volleyball community service team.
Junior and middle blocker Emily Thater has worked with Peltier the past three years. She believes Peltier brought a sense of urgency to the team and was a key motivator.
“She really pushes us, whether it’s a practice, competition, or in the weight room,” Thater said. “She’s devoted to making us better and holds us at a high standard. Always.”
Peltier chose Mizzou because of its homey atmosphere and the ability to still be close to her family. It’s one of the things she’s going to miss most about the team.
“I’m going to miss the girls a lot,” Peltier said. “And I’m going to miss the competition that comes with collegiate volleyball and seeing my family up in the crowd.”