SPRINGFIELD, MO.
- The gap between
the elite in the Missouri Valley Conference and the Drake volleyball team
continues to dissipate but the Bulldogs still lack that marquee victory after giving
a valiant fight in dropping a 3-1 (19-25, 27-25, 21-25, 25-16) decision at Missouri State on Saturday evening (Oct. 31).
Drake now stands at 18-9 overall and 7-6 in the MVC, while
the Bears registered their 22nd straight win over the Bulldogs to improve their
ledger to 17-7 on the year and 10-2 in league action.
"We played well at
times in the match but Missouri
State is a tough team at
home," Drake head coach Phil McDaniel
commented. "They're strong defensively
and they just dug a few more balls than we did tonight."
Missouri State raced out to an 8-3 lead in game one but the
Bulldogs refused to give in as Drake cut the deficit to one point on four
different occasions before the Bears closed out the frame on a 10-4 run to
record a 25-19 decision.
The second stanza saw the Bulldogs jump out to a 9-2 lead
before Missouri State went on a run of its own to assume
a 24-20 advantage. Drake withstood four
game points before junior Alisa DeBerg Roth (Hudson, Iowa/Hudson) put the Bulldogs ahead to stay,
26-25, on a kill. Junior Angela Bys (Marion, Iowa/Marion)
then completed the rally with a kill to collect a 27-25 triumph.
Drake again pushed out to an 8-3 lead in the third game but
couldn't handle the pressure of the Bears as Missouri State
garnered a 25-21 decision.
Leading 9-8 in the deciding frame, the Bears parlayed a 9-1
run to secure the match with a 25-16 win.
Drake finished the evening attacking the ball at a .177
clip, while Missouri
State wrapped up the
victory recording a .270 attack mark.
Senior Chelsea Lauersdorf (Watertown, Wis./Watertown) collected her
team-leading seventh double-double of the year with a 27-assist, 12-dig
performance.
Bys lead the Bulldogs with 15 kills, while senior Emily Madden (Van
Meter, Iowa/Adel DeSoto Minburn)
and sophomore Michelle Reidy (Dubuque, Iowa/Wahlert
Catholic) each netted nine kills. Madden
just missed a double-double as she added 14 digs to her nine kills.
Calli Norman led all players with a match-high 25
kills. Cara Hackman paced five Missouri State players in double-figures in digs
with 37.
Junior Alana Wittenburg
(Readlyn, Iowa/Wapsie
Valley) directed Drake with 28 digs.
"Alana (Wittenburg) was solid this evening and both our
middles were strong, but we didn't have enough fire power this evening,"
McDaniel explained.
Missouri State bettered Drake in kills (67-51), service aces
(5-2), assists (62-47) and digs (93-78), while the Bulldogs netted a 6.0-5.0
advantage in blocks. The Bulldogs
established a season high in attempts (181), while recording a season-best 78
digs in a four-set match.
Drake returns to action on Nov. 7 with a 7:00 p.m. tilt at
Creighton.