DES MOINES, IOWA ? The beauty of youth is that actions often speak louder than words and for the Drake volleyball team the results are rapidly coming of age as the Bulldogs registered a 3-1 (30-14, 23-30, 30-19, 30-21) Missouri Valley Conference victory over Indiana State on Friday (Sept. 28).
Drake won a contest it was expected to win and the Bulldogs pushed their record to 5-10 overall, including evening their league ledger at 2-2. The loss was sixth straight for the Sycamores, who now stand at 3-10 and 0-5 in conference play.
The Bulldogs fired on all cylinders in game one as Drake established tempo and raced to a 30-14 triumph.
As quickly as the match appeared to be in the Bulldogs' control, Indiana State amped its intensity in the second frame and squared the contest with a 30-23 decision.
After an intense intermission discussion between head coach
Amy Farber Knowles and her squad, Drake regained its focus and cruised to wins in the final two stanzas, 30-19 and 30-21, respectively to secure the victory.
“My expectations for this group of young ladies is so much higher than it's ever been because I know what they are capable of,” Farber Knowles said. “We relaxed in game two thinking it was going to be a walk in the park and momentum can take a big turn and so we really had to refocus as I needed some of my upperclassmen to lead. They reacted and responded well and we finally got the momentum going in our favor. We haven't been in the situation where we expect going into a match winning and understand we need to focus every time and respect the team we are playing.”
Registering her second career triple-double for Drake was sophomore
Chelsea Lauersdorf (Watertown, Wis./Watertown), who exploded for a 22-assist 11-dig, 10-kill performance. The triple-double was the second in the last three matches for Lauersdorf, while her 22 assists pushed her into the top-10 in school history.
Freshman
Angela Bys (Marion, Iowa/Marion) led the Bulldogs with a match-high 14 kills. Joining her with double-figure kill performances was senior
Samantha Nelson (Ceresco, Neb./Raymond Central) and sophomores
Emily Madden (Van Meter, Iowa/Adel DeSoto Minburn) and Lauersdorf with 13, 13 and 10, respectively.
Freshman
Alana Wittenburg (Readlyn, Iowa/Wapsie Valley) added a team-best 15 assists, while senior
Sarah Schuster (Indianola, Iowa/Indianola) distributed a match-high 28 assists.
Jodilynne Stoker notched a team-high 11 kills for the Sycamores. Kristy Cox paced Indiana State in digs with 22.
The Bulldogs held the Sycamores to a .040 hitting percentage, while themselves striking the ball at a .212 clip. Drake dominated the statistical count in kills (60-40), assists (55-38), services aces (11-6) and digs (62-55). Both teams collected 10 blocks in the contest.
The Bulldogs conclude their brief two-match homestand hosting Illinois State on Saturday (Sept. 29). The Redbirds dropped a 3-1 decision at Creighton on Friday (Sept. 28).
