EVANSVILLE, IND. ? Buoyed by a .416 team hitting percentage, Evansville collected a 3-0 (30-18, 30-26, 30-18) victory over Drake in Missouri Valley Conference volleyball competition on Saturday (Oct. 6).
The Purple Aces evened their spread at 9-9 on the campaign, including 2-5 in the MVC, while the Bulldogs fell to 5-13 overall and an identical 2-5 conference ledger.
Evansville held the Drake attack in check in the contest as only freshman Angela Bys (Marion, Iowa/Marion) surpassed the double-digit plateau in kills with 12. The Purple Aces had a balanced scoring attack with four players notching 10 or more kills, led by Megan Spurlock and Danielle Diehl with 12 apiece.
The Bulldogs came out in the initial game and took the early advantage by as many as three (11-8) before Evansville stormed back to regain the lead at 12-11 on a kill by Diehl. The Purple Aces stretched the margin to five before recording nine of the final 11 points in the game to earn a 30-18 decision.
Drake again marched to the lead in the second stanza before Evansville squared the game at 24 on a Bulldog attack error. The Purple Aces then finished off the frame on a 6-2 run to repel the Blue and White, 30-26.
The final frame proved to be anticlimactic for the home team as Evansville assumed an 11-3 advantage and never looked back in netting a 30-18 triumph.
Freshman Alana Wittenburg (Readlyn, Iowa/Wapsie Valley) contributed a team-high 13 digs for the Bulldogs, while sophomore Chelsea Lauersdorf (Watertown, Wis./Watertown) distributed a match-best 33 assists.
Julie Walroth paced all players with 17 digs for Evansville. Elaine Walroth and Katie Kincaid recorded 21 and 20 assists, respectively for the Purple Aces.
Evansville earned advantages in nearly every statistical category as the Purple Aces bettered Drake in kills (58-36), assists (52-36), digs (55-42) and services aces (7-1), while the Bulldogs posted two more blocks (5.0-3.0) in the contest. The Blue and White finished the affair with a .177 hitting percentage.
Drake now returns home for four consecutive MVC contests starting on Friday (Oct. 12) versus Missouri State. Match time against the Bears is set for 7:00 p.m.
