CARBONDALE, ILL. -- The  Drake women's volleyball team posted a 3-1 (25-18, 14-25, 25-23, 25-19) Missouri Valley Conference victory past Southern Illinois Friday, vaulting the Bulldogs into fourth place in the league standings with a 4-4 record.

The Bulldogs rallied from a 16-11 deficit in the third game, tying the frame at 22-22 on a block by junior Alisa DeBerg Roth (Hudson, Iowa/Hudson) and sophomore Michelle Reidy (Dubuque, Iowa/Wahlert Catholic) and grabbed the lead for good at 23-22 when the duo connected on another block.

"The big difference between this year's squad and last year's team is that we are resilient and believe we can compete with anyone," said Drake coach Phil McDaniel.

The Bulldogs snapped a four-game losing streak to Southern Illinois while improving their record to 14-7.

The victory also moved McDaniel into a tie for fifth place on the Drake career coaching victory list with Randy Dolson at 26 wins.

"We got down early in the third game but our defense got us back into the game and allowed us to control the pace for the rest of the match," McDaniel added.

Junior Angela Bys (Marion, Iowa/Marion) led Drake with 14 kills, while DeBerg Roth and Reidy contributed 11 kills apiece. Junior Alana Wittenburg (Readlyn, Iowa/Wapsie Valley) paced Drake with 19 digs. Senior Chelsea Lauersdorf (Watertown, Wis./Watertown) had 31 assists and 12 digs for Drake.

Clinging to a 19-17 lead in the first game, the Bulldogs went on a 6-1 scoring spree to close out the first game with DeBerg Roth getting three straight kills to ignite the charge.

Drake broke a 10-10 tie in the fourth game, going on a 9-2 run.

Drake will visit Evansville Saturday, Oct. 17.  Match time is 7:00 p.m.

"This win gives us a lot of confidence but we know Evansville will be a tough opponent and we will have to come with our best effort," said McDaniel.