DES MOINES, IOWA - Senior Eve Johnson (Council Bluffs, Iowa) became Drakes all-time leader in kills, but her efforts went in vain, as Wichita State kept pace atop the Missouri Valley Conference standings with a 3-0 (30-18, 30-23, 30-26) victory over the Bulldogs in volleyball action on Friday evening (Nov. 10).

The win allowed the Shockers to remain a half game behind Northern Iowa in the league standings at 13-2, including 23-6 overall. The loss drops Drake to 6-21 on the campaign and 2-13 in the MVC.

"We started slow tonight and we've had times of absolute greatness and times of where we just can't get things going and the consistency is where we have to improve in order to knock off any of the top teams in our league," commented Bulldog head coach Amy Farber Knowles. "We were really consistent when we played Creighton and results ended up being positive. When we can put it all together and be consistent, we do wonderful things, so if we keep focusing on consistency, hopefully we can bring home a victory tomorrow."

Wichita State controlled the tempo of the match from the start as the Shockers attacked the ball at .412 and .326 clips in the first and second games, respectively to register wins in the initial two frames.

The third stanza proved to be more of a struggle for WSU as the Bulldogs made the Shockers earn every point in a 30-26 decision as the squad registered a .195 hitting percentage in the deciding game three.

Johnson finished the evening with her team-leading ninth double-double of the campaign as she posted a team-high 13 kills to go along with 10 digs. Matching her in double-figures for kills was senior Megan Veltman (Racine, Wis.) and junior Samantha Nelson (Ceresco, Neb.) with 10 apiece. Kim Wadsworth paced the Shockers with 14 kills while Lindsey Eckenrode contributed 11 to the cause. Senior Beth Kranske (Fort Collins, Colo.) finished the contest with match-high 18 digs which largely enabled junior Sarah Schuster (Indianola, Iowa) to record a team and match-best 39 assists.

The statistics in the affair proved to indicate a more even match than the final score dictated as Wichita State bettered Drake in kills (48-46), assists (43-41), services aces (7-4) and digs (48-46). Where the Shockers ultimately won the match was with blocks (8.0-2.0) and at the net where they recorded a .327 hitting percentage to a .146 attack mark by the blue and white.

The Bulldogs home finale is next on the docket as Drake hosts Missouri State in a 7:30 p.m. tilt in the Knapp Center. Prior to the affair, the Bulldogs will honor seniors Betsy Funk (Urbandale, Iowa), Kranske, Johnson, Liz McNulty (Roosevelt) and Veltman before they take the court for their final home matches of their respective Drake careers.