DES MOINES, IOWA - The Drake volleyball team is on the verge of turning the corner and the lessons learned from losses like its 3-1 (21-25, 18-25, 25-20, 25-22) Missouri Valley Conference volleyball setback to in-state rival Northern Iowa on Thursday (Nov. 20) will only serve it well as the Bulldogs move forward in the program's progression over the next few seasons.

The loss dropped Drake to 11-20 overall, including 4-13 in the MVC, while the Panthers extended their ledger to 23-6 and 13-4 in league action.

“Tonight was a touch match as Northern Iowa is in the top half of the MVC,” Drake head coach Phil McDaniel commented.  “I was happy with our defensive effort as at times as we forced Northern Iowa into things they didn't want to do. In the sets we lost, our defensive intensity and execution at the net blocking cost us at times.”

The initial stanza was a back-and-forth affair as neither side attacked the ball with high percentages but in the end Northern Iowa persevered to claim a 25-21 decision.

The Bulldogs struggled to register only a .086 attack mark in the second set as the Panthers posted a .300 hitting percentage en route to netting a 25-18 decision.  The frame featured 10 ties and four lead changes.

Coming out of the intermission, Drake slowly pulled away in the third set on the strength of 16 kills to cut the deficit to 2-1 with a 25-20 triumph.

Northern Iowa sealed its 25th consecutive victory over the Bulldogs in the final stanza with a 25-22 win.

Sophomore Angela Bys (Marion, Iowa/Marion) paced the Drake attack with 10 kills.  Chipping in with nine, eight, seven and seven kills was redshirt freshman Mikayla Sims (Waterloo, Iowa/East), junior Emily Madden (Van Meter, Iowa/Adel DeSoto Minburn), sophomore Alisa DeBerg Roth (Hudson, Iowa/Hudson) and freshman Michelle Reidy (Dubuque, Iowa/Wahlert Catholic).

“Michelle (Reidy) had an outstanding offensive evening and we got good production from Emily (Madden) and Alisa (DeBerg Roth),” McDaniel said.

Sophomore Alana Wittenburg (Readlyn, Iowa/Wapsie Valley) led Drake with 26 digs, while Madden contributed 10.  Sparking the offense with 24 and 13 assists, respectively, was junior Chelsea Lauersdorf (Watertown, Wis./Watertown) and freshman Caitlin Johnson (Sycamore, Ill./Sycamore Community).

With her 24 assists, Lauersdorf moved into 10th place in the single-season record book at Drake with 975 assists this season, moving past Katy Bomberger's mark of 958 set in 1990.

Reidy and Madden finished the affair attacking the ball at .375 and .304 clips, respectively.

Ashten Stelken and Amy Sampson directed Northern Iowa with 15 and 11 kills.

The Panthers bettered the Bulldogs in kills (56-47), assists (49-41), blocks (9.0-5.0) and service aces (8-5), while Drake garnered a 68-66 advantage in digs.

The Bulldogs close out their campaign on Friday evening (Nov. 21) as Drake entertains Bradley on Parent's Night.  Game time is slated for 7:00 p.m.