Western Michigan improves to 8-5 with the victory, while Drake's ledger falls to 2-9.

The Bulldogs jumped out of the gates on the Broncos in the opening game parlaying the serving of freshman Nicole Brown (Appleton, Wis./Appleton) into a 7-0 lead. Brown sparked the opening run as she contributed a pair of service aces.

Following a Western Michigan timeout, the Broncos marched their way back into the game, scoring 11 of the next 15 points to square the game at 11. From that point forward, the stanza featured 22 ties, with neither side holding more than a two-point advantage. The Bulldogs held serve on game point on three occasions, while stopping Western Michigan five times before the Broncos ultimately won an epic 39-37 decision.

The second game saw the two teams battling point for point. Western Michigan led 14-10 when the Broncos scored five unanswered points to push the lead to 19-10. A late rally sparked the Bulldogs in the frame, but the Blue and White's efforts came up short, 30-25.

Down two games to zero, Drake came out in game three and used kills from freshman Angela Bys (Marion, Iowa/Marion) along with sophomores Chelsea Lauersdorf (Watertown, Wis./Watertown) and Emily Madden (Van Meter, Iowa/Adel DeSoto Minburn) to take an early 7-3 advantage.

Western Michigan got back into the frame parlaying five Drake errors into an 11-10 lead, an advantage it didn't relinquish. The Bulldogs never quit in the game making Broncos work for every point, including twice cutting the deficit to one, 28-27 and 29-28. Allyson Doyle ended the surge registering a kill to secure a 30-28 game three victory for Western Michigan.

Drake concluded the affair recording a .194 hitting percentage, while the Broncos attacked the ball at a .256 clip.

The Bulldogs finished with an advantage statistically in blocks (8.0-7.0), but were bested by Western Michigan in kills (56-49), assists (54-46), services aces (6-5) and digs (60-38).

Madden turned in match-high 18 kills and was joined in double-figures in kills by Bys with 16. Lauersdorf and freshman Alana Wittenburg (Readlyn, Iowa/Wapsie Valley) shared top-team honors in digs with nine apiece. 

For her efforts, Bys was named to the all-tournament team.

The Broncos had three players attack the ball at better than a .300 clip, with Michelle Moore, Katie Eberling and Doyle collecting 17, 14 and 10 kills, respectively.

Drake concludes road swing through Illinois on Sunday (Sept. 16) as the Bulldogs tangle with Western Illinois. Match time in Macomb, Ill., is slated for 3:00 p.m.