DES MOINES, IOWA - Every point matters and for the Drake volleyball team its inability to capture points at key moments proved to be the difference between victory and defeat as Evansville registered a 3-0 (25-22, 25-23, 25-13) triumph over the Bulldogs on Saturday evening (Oct. 18) in Missouri Valley Conference competition.

Drake fell to 9-12 overall and 2-7 in league play with the setback, while the Purple Aces improved their ledger to 11-11 and 5-4 in MVC action.

“Offensively in the first and second sets we held our own, but in the third set we lost focus and got a little rattled and couldn't bounce back,” Drake head coach Phil McDaniel said.  “We need to be more consistent than we have been.”

Each of the first two frames was very competitive with Evansville and Drake attacking the ball at .287 and .270 clips, respectively through the second set.  In the initial stanza, the Purple Aces were able to capitalize off of six Bulldog errors to secure a 25-22 victory.

In the second set, Evansville exerted its muscle as the Purple Aces registered a 19-13 advantage in kills en route to claiming a 25-23 set-two victory.

The offense began to show fatigue in the third frame for Drake as the Bulldogs recorded only eight kills against 11 errors to finish the set attacking the ball at a -.077 clip.  Evansville took advantage of the opportunity and concluded the stanza with a .375 hitting percentage to win the match.

Sophomore Angela Bys (Marion, Iowa/Marion) turned in a 10-kill, seven-dig performance for the Bulldogs, while freshman Caitlin Johnson (Sycamore, Ill./Sycamore Community) came off the bench to post nine assists and six digs.

Sophomore Alana Wittenburg (Readlyn, Iowa/Wapsie Valley) paced Drake with a match-high 13 digs and was joined in double-figures by junior Emily Madden (Van Meter, Iowa/Adel DeSoto Minburn) with 10.  Junior Chelsea Lauersdorf (Watertown, Wis./Watertown) contributed 21 assists.

Sally Kulupka and Emily Wandersee notched 13 and 12 kills, respectively to lead the Purple Aces.

Evansville finished the affair netting positive returns in kills (47-37), assists (44-34) and service aces (6-1), while blocks were square at two and Drake won the dig count, 51-44.

Drake begins a four-match road swing on Monday (Oct. 20) as the Bulldogs travel to Brookings, S.D., for a showdown with South Dakota State at 6:00 p.m.  The match will serve as a homecoming for McDaniel, who served three years as an assistant coach for the Jackrabbits.