WICHITA, KAN. - The Drake volleyball team may have reached a turning point in its season as the Bulldogs extended 12th-ranked Wichita State to the limit before the Shockers escaped with a 3-2 (25-14, 25-12, 26-28, 23-25, 15-8) victory in Missouri Valley Conference action on Saturday evening (Oct. 25).

Drake came up short in its bid for its first victory over Wichita State since 1998 and fell to 9-15 overall, including 2-9 in the MVC. The Shockers were extended to five sets for only the second time in league play this season and remained a perfect 22-0 on the year and 11-0 in conference action.

“I told them team before the match to soak in the atmosphere and take the energy and put it back into our effort and they did that,” Bulldog head coach Phil McDaniel commented. “It was a fantastic crowd (5,916) tonight, who was appreciative of our effort. I preached defense before the match and intensity and we made some big plays defensively that made our offense much more effective.”

Drake was slow out of the gate as the Shockers registered .353 and .325 hitting percentages in the first two sets, respectively, to assume a 2-0 lead after 25-14 and 25-12 decisions in the initial two stanzas.

The momentum appeared to be on course for a Wichita State sweep as the Shockers held 13-6 and 20-13 advantages in the third set. The Bulldogs were down to their final point trailing 24-22 before rolling off three unanswered tallies on the strength of kills from sophomores Alisa DeBerg Roth (Hudson, Iowa/Hudson), Nicole Brown (Appleton, Wis./Xavier) and Angela Bys (Marion, Iowa/Marion) to assume a 25-24 lead. Bys sealed the third-set triumph with a kill to provide Drake a 28-26 win.

The Shockers jumped out to a 12-6 lead in the fourth set before the Bulldogs recorded six unanswered points on the strength of two service aces by junior Emily Madden (Van Meter, Iowa/Adel DeSoto Minburn) to square the frame at 12 apiece.

Wichita State regained the advantage 17-15 before Drake fired off five straight points to assume a 20-18 lead, one it didn't relinquish in a 25-23 victory.

“We were able to settle ourselves down even when they had runs and didn't get rattled and the team had a calm look on their faces,” McDaniel said.

The final stanza belonged to the Shockers as Wichita State posted a .320 hitting percentage, while limiting the Bulldogs to a .042 attack mark to secure the triumph.

In the affair, Drake recorded its first set triumph against the Shockers since Nov. 1, 2002 and won two sets for the initial time since Oct. 3, 1998.

The Bulldogs garnered a pair of double-doubles from Bys and junior Chelsea Lauersdorf (Watertown, Wis./Watertown), as the duo each recorded their team-best seventh double-doubles. Bys finished with a 13-dig, 12-kill performance, while Lauersdorf distributed 30 assists and netted 13 digs.

Madden and sophomore Alana Wittenburg (Readlyn, Iowa/Wapsie Valley) added double-figure digs with 15 and 24, respectively.

Freshman Michelle Reidy (Dubuque, Iowa/Wahlert Catholic) registered seven kills and a team-best .333 hitting percentage. Turning in a strong match off the bench was Brown, who notched four kills, while matching Lauersdorf with a team-high four blocks.

“It was a fantastic defensive effort by us and we got a huge offensive spark from Nicole (Brown) and Michelle (Reidy),” McDaniel explained.

Wichita State bettered the Bulldogs in kills (75-44), assists (73-44), digs (90-74) and blocks (8.0-7.0). The Shockers finished the affair attacking the ball at a .279 clip, while Drake posted a .105 hitting percentage.

The Bulldogs return to action on Wednesday (Oct. 29) as Drake has a date at UMKC. Match time is slated for 7:00 p.m.