DES MOINES, IOWA - On a night when Drake honored its five seniors, it was Missouri State that did the celebrating as the Bears registered a 3-0 (30-15, 30-19, 30-15) victory over the Bulldogs in volleyball action on Saturday (Nov. 11).
The loss dropped Drake to 6-22 on the campaign, including 2-14 in the Missouri Valley Conference and unfortunately spoiled the final home match for seniors
Betsy Funk (Urbandale, Iowa),
Eve Johnson (Council Bluffs, Iowa),
Beth Kranske (Fort Collins, Colo.),
Liz McNulty (Roosevelt) and
Megan Veltman (Racine, Wis.). Missouri State remained in contention for the MVC crown with the victory as the Bears now stand at 23-6 overall and 13-3 in league play.
"It was a tough night for my seniors, it is hard with all the emotions they were feeling before the match and that translated into the game and it is hard to get out of that funk," Bulldog head coach Amy Farber Knowles commented. "It was a sad way to end the home season, but we talked about it in the locker room that we have two winnable matches left this season. We want to practice hard this next week and look ahead as to the matches and strive to finish the season the best we have in years, that is our goal."
Missouri State stormed out of the gates to begin the match as the Bears struck the ball at a stellar .455 clip in the initial game while limiting the blue and white to a .000 attack mark. The hitting numbers dropped for both sides in the second frame, but the results were much the same as MSU outlasted Drake to take the game, 30-19. The deciding third stanza was decidedly in favor of the Bears as they hammered the ball home at a .355 pace to register a 30-15 decision to take both the game and the match.
Shanda Harper led all players with 12 kills and was joined in double-figures in kills by Erin OConnor with 10. The Bulldogs received six kills apiece courtesy of Johnson and freshman
Emily Madden (Van Meter, Iowa). Adeana McAfee directed Missouri State with a match-high 15 digs. Top honors in that category for Drake went to Kranske with seven.
The Bears secured the contest with a .324 hitting mark in the affair while limiting the Bulldogs to a -.010 attack number. Missouri State finished the match with decided advantages in the statistical column in kills (49-24), assists (43-23), digs (43-28), blocks (9.0-2.0) and service aces (3-0).
Two matches remain on the docket for Drake as the Bulldogs close out their 2006 campaign at Evansville (Nov. 17) and Southern Illinois (Nov. 18). Both tilts are slated for 7:00 p.m. starts.
