DES MOINES, IOWA - The Drake volleyball team gave 14th-rated Wichita State all the match it could handle in Missouri Valley Conference action on Friday (Sept. 26) before the Shockers pulled away en route to a 3-0 (25-17, 25-21, 25-21) victory.

Wichita State remained perfect at 14-0 on the year, including 2-0 in league action with the win, while Drake suffered its first home loss of the campaign and now stands at 8-6 overall and 1-2 in MVC play.

“Overall, I'm not unhappy with our performance tonight,” Bulldog head coach Phil McDaniel commented. “We had some mental lapses at key moments which stopped us from controlling the ball and we gave them too many easy balls. They're the No. 14 team in the country and aside from set one, I thought we had chances to close them out in sets two and three but we couldn't make a run.”

The initial frame was tight early as five unanswered tallies from Wichita State broke open a 4-4 deadlock. The Shockers went on to attack the ball at a .375 clip in the first frame to pull away recording a 25-17 decision.

The second stanza proved to be a battle as the set featured 11 ties and three lead changes before Wichita State collected a 25-21 decision. Neither side held more than a two-point advantage until an attack error gave the Shockers a 23-20 lead, one they didn't relinquish.

In the final frame Wichita State parlayed a .306 hitting percentage against a .056 attack mark for the Bulldogs into a 25-21 victory.

Junior Chelsea Lauersdorf (Watertown, Wis./Watertown) collected her fourth double-double of the campaign with a 27-assist, 12-dig performance for the Blue and White. Sophomore Alana Wittenburg (Readlyn, Iowa/Wapsie Valley) added her 16th consecutive double-figure dig effort with a team-high 13 digs and sophomore Angela Bys (Marion, Iowa/Marion) paced Drake with nine kills.

Emily Stockman and Kelly Broussard added 11 kills and 21 digs, respectively, for Wichita State.

The Shockers collected advantages in the match in kills (46-35), assists (37-31), service aces (2-0) and blocks (9.0-6.0), while the Bulldogs bettered Wichita State in digs, 50-45.

The Shockers finished the affair attacking the ball at a .301 clip, while Drake recorded a .108 hitting percentage.

The Bulldogs return to the court on Saturday (Sept. 27) as Drake hosts Missouri State at 7:00 p.m.