CEDAR FALLS, IOWA - Rallying from a 2-0 deficit No. 21
Northern Iowa spoiled a stunning near-upset by the Drake volleyball team as the
Panthers posted a 3-2 (24-26, 21-25, 25-21, 25-7, 15-6) triumph over the
Bulldogs on Saturday (Nov. 21) in the McLeod Center.
Northern Iowa moved its ledger to 28-2, including
a perfect 18-0 Missouri Valley Conference slate, while Drake finished its
regular season at 22-11 and 10-8 in league play.
"We let down a little bit in the fourth and fifth sets and Northern Iowa took advantage," Bulldog head coach Phil McDaniel commented. "We were so disciplined in first two sets as
defensively we were so sharp that we were digging out balls that normally would
have hit the floor against the Panthers.
We lost our composure and defensive discipline halfway through the third
set."
The first set was a back and forth affair with 13 ties and
the result wasn't decided until a kill by junior Angela Bys (Marion,
Iowa/Marion) giving Drake a 26-24
decision.
Trailing 5-4 in the second stanza, the Bulldogs went on a
12-4 run to assume a 17-8 advantage en route to a 25-21 victory. Senior Emily Madden (Van Meter, Iowa/Adel DeSoto Minburn) capped the set
with a kill.
The Panthers rallied back in the third set with 19 kills to
record a 25-21 triumph.
Northern Iowa jumped out to a 15-5 lead in the
fourth frame and didn't look back en route to posting a 25-7 win. The Panthers collected 14 kills against zero
errors in recording a .483 hitting percentage in the game.
Drake entered the winner-take-all fifth frame having won six
of its previous five-set matches this season but Northern Iowa proved to be too
much in hauling in a 15-x decision.
Senior Chelsea Lauersdorf (Watertown, Wis./Watertown) notched her
eighth consecutive double-double with a 28-assist, 11-dig effort.
Bys paced the Bulldogs with 17 kills, while junior Alana Wittenburg (Readlyn, Iowa/Wapsie
Valley) recorded 23 digs.
Madden chipped in a double-double for Drake with 10 kills
and 10 digs.
Northern Iowa was paced by a triple-double from
Bre Payton with 17 kills, 46 assists and 11 digs. Five Panthers netted double-figure kills.
The Panthers bested Drake in kills (75-55), assists (67-52),
service aces (3-2) and digs (89-74), while the Bulldogs won the battle at the
net in blocks (7.0-6.0).
Drake finished the match with a .330 attack mark compared to
Northern Iowa, who registered a .172 hitting
percentage.
"We played well in a great volleyball environment at Northern Iowa tonight on senior night and even though we lost
we gained confidence that we can play with the best teams this conference has
to offer," said McDaniel.
With its regular season complete, Drake opens action at the
State Farm MVC Championship on Thursday (Nov. 26) against Creighton in an 8:00
p.m. tilt in Omaha, Neb.
