DES MOINES, IOWA. ? Opportunities in sport are out there for the taking when individuals are willing to stretch themselves beyond their normal boundaries and give extraordinary efforts when called upon. For Drake the passion and play were on display in its 3-2 (26-30, 28-30, 30-28, 33-31, 17-19) Missouri Valley Conference volleyball setback to Evansville on Friday (Nov. 2) but several key actions went against the Bulldogs and Drake was unable to climb the mountain and conquer the Purple Aces.
The loss drops the Bulldogs to 7-18 on the year, including 4-10 in the MVC. The victory squares Evansville's ledger at 12-12 overall and gives the Purple Aces a key league tiebreaker to go to 5-8 in conference play.
Freshman Angela Bys (Marion, Iowa/Marion) nearly stole the show in the match as she finished with a match-high 28 kills, while adding 16 digs. Fellow rookie Alisa DeBerg Roth (Hudson, Iowa/Hudson) added a career-best 13 kills to the cause for Drake.
The Purple Aces took the opening game by a score of 30-26. The Bulldogs were on the verge of evening the contest at one game apiece leading 27-22 in the second stanza before Evansville tallied eight of the next nine points, including seven unanswered to secure the triumph.
Trailing two games to zero, the Blue and White persevered to take the third (30-28) and fourth (33-31) frames to force a deciding game five.
The final game featured 14 ties and 15 lead changes before a Drake attack error ended the drama in a 19-17 Evansville triumph.
Bys posted her fifth straight double-figure kill match en route to collecting her sixth double-double of the year. Sophomore Emily Madden (Van Meter, Iowa/Adel DeSoto Minburn) registered her team-leading seventh double-double on the campaign with a 16-kill, 15 dig performance, while senior Sarah Schuster (Indianola, Iowa/Indianola) notched her fifth adding a match-high 54 kills to her 12 digs.
Sophomore Lindsay Schryver (Williams Bay, Wis./Williams Bay) led five Bulldogs with double-figure digs netting a career-best 26. Joining her was freshman Alana Wittenburg (Readlyn, Iowa/Wapsie Valley), Bys, Madden and Schuster with 23, 16, 15 and 12 digs, respectively. Julie Walroth directed all players with 28 digs for Evansville.
The Bulldogs held advantages in the final stat sheet in nearly every category as Drake bettered Evansville in kills (71-67), assists (68-59), digs (103-99) and service aces (9-4). The Purple Aces got the best of Drake at the net as they collected 17.5 blocks to 11.0 by the Bulldogs, including eight from senior Samantha Nelson (Ceresco, Neb./Raymond Central).
Drake finished the affair posting a .106 hitting percentage, while Evansville recorded a .128 attack mark.
With her 28 kills, Bys moved past Brandy Ossian (1996) into sixth place in school history for kills (403) in a single season. Wittenburg tied Lacey Corcoran (2002) and Lindsay Patterson (2004) for eighth place in single-season digs (340) with her 23 versus the Purple Aces.
The Bulldogs close out their home conference slate versus Southern Illinois on Saturday (Nov. 3) at 7:00 p.m. Senior night activities for Nelson and Schuster will be held following the contest.
