DES MOINES, IOWA - Sparked by a season-high 18 kills from junior Angela Bys (Marion, Iowa/Marion), the
Drake volleyball team completed its first season sweep of Illinois State since
1995 rallying for a 3-2 (21-25, 25-23, 20-25, 25-18, 15-7) victory in Missouri
Valley Conference play on Saturday (Oct. 24).
The Bulldogs extended their
winning streak to seven consecutive matches, including five straight in league
play, to push their record to 18-7 overall and 7-4 in the MVC. The Redbirds saw their ledger fall to
9-13, including 4-7 in conference action.
"Our defensive effort tonight was
outstanding," Drake head coach Phil McDaniel commented. "We had a
great series of rallies with Illinois State, who is a fantastic defensive team
themselves, but we needed every one of those digs and blocks to ensure the
victory tonight."
The night also saw junior Alana Wittenburg (Readlyn, Iowa/Wapsie
Valley) establish a new milestone in Drake volleyball as her 10th dig of the
match, which came in game two, vaulted Wittenburg past Brandy Ossian (1993-96)
into the top spot in school history with her 1,456 career dig. Wittenburg
finished the affair with a team-best 24 digs.
"Alana (Wittenburg) getting the
digs record as a junior is a nice reward for all her hard work and dedication
to the program," stated McDaniel.
The two sides battled from the
start as Illinois State parlayed a .400 hitting percentage in the first game to
steal a 25-21 decision.
Drake rallied back to square the
affair at one in the second stanza before the Redbirds regained the momentum
with a 25-20, game-three triumph.
The Bulldogs' defensive intensity
picked up in game four with Drake limiting Illinois State to a .091 attack mark
en route to evening the tilt at two.
In the deciding fifth game, the
Bulldogs registered nine kills against no errors and recorded a .450 hitting
percentage to earn the victory, 15-7.
Four Drake players finished with
double-figure kills, including Bys (18), redshirt freshman Emily Heffernen (Manchester, Iowa/West Delaware) (12) and 10 apiece
courtesy of senior Emily Madden (Van
Meter, Iowa/Adel DeSoto Minburn) and junior Alisa DeBerg Roth (Hudson, Iowa/Hudson).
"Offensively, we got an
extraordinary effort from Angela (Bys) and Emily (Heffernen) and Michelle
(Reidy) did a fantastic job in the middle," McDaniel said.
Mallory Leggett directed four
Illinois State players with double-digit kills with a match-high 21.
Senior Chelsea Lauersdorf (Watertown, Wis./Watertown) added her
team-leading sixth double-double of the season with a 31-assist, 12-dig effort,
while Bys turned in her first double-double of the season with an 18-kill,
11-dig performance.
Just missing her second
consecutive double-double and third of the season was Madden, who registered 10
kills and nine digs.
Collecting double-doubles for the
Redbirds were Leggett (21 kills and 14 digs) and Jessica Pratapas (39 assists,
11 digs).
Lauersdorf distributed 31 assists
for the Bulldogs, while sophomore Caitlin Johnson (Sycamore, Ill./Sycamore Community) chipped in 21 assists.
Defensively, Drake got five blocks
apiece from redshirt sophomore Mikayla Sims (Waterloo, Iowa/East) and sophomore Michelle Reidy (Dubuque, Iowa/Wahlert Catholic).
As a team, Drake bested Illinois
State in kills (69-63), assists (60-59), service aces (6-2) and blocks
(10.0-9.0), while being bettered in digs (84-74).
The Bulldogs finished the evening
with a .213 attack against a .199 hitting percentage for the Redbirds.
Drake has a daunting challenge
ahead of it next as the Bulldogs face road dates next weekend at Wichita State
(Oct. 30) and Missouri State (Oct. 31).
Both teams sit just above Drake in the MVC standings.
"We have a tough road swing with
Missouri State and Wichita State and we're going to need to play with the same
intensity to pull out wins on the road," McDaniel explained.
