DES MOINES, IOWA - The Drake
University volleyball team took a 2-0 lead into intermission, but it was Illinois State that prevailed in the end, taking
a 3-2 (25-19, 26-24, 23-25, 18-25, 9-15) Missouri Valley Conference victory
over the Bulldogs.
Senior
libero Alana Wittenburg (Readlyn, Iowa) tied her own Drake single game record with 39 digs,
set Sept. 17 at Evansville.
Wittenburg's defense was paramount to Drake's early success.
She was the
reason why we won the first two games and the reason why we were in there at
the end," said head coach Phil McDaniel. "She did a great job in service and in
defense all night."
Drake's
attack percentage told the story of the match. The Bulldogs hit .300 and .341
in the opening sets, then went on to hit .130, .104 and .217 in the final three
matches. Additionally, the Bulldogs totaled 10 blocks in the first two sets,
and just three in the final three sets.
"We lost
focus," McDaniel added. "And we lost our defensive assignments. It came back
and bit us in the end. We were very undisciplined in the last three sets."
Junior
setter Caitlin Johnson (Sycamore, Ill.)
tallied her 12th double-double of the season with 32 assists and 13
digs. Senior setter Susan Clausen (Johnston, Iowa) also chipped in a double-double with 20
assists and 10 digs. Sophomore Whitney Westrum (Waukee, Iowa) pushed her double-double streak
to five matches with a career-high 15 kills and 14 digs.
"She
(Westrum) got a little erratic at the service line, but she was able to take
some good swings toward the end of the match," McDaniel said. "When she's
focused, she's hard to stop when we can get her the ball in-system."
The
Bulldogs fell to 20-7 overall and into a sixth-place tie with Illinois State
at 5-7 in conference play. The Redbirds hold the tiebreaker over Drake with a
season-series win. Only the top six teams in the conference advance to the
State Farm MVC Tournament in Cedar
Falls, Iowa.
"Conference
is tough, it always is," McDaniel added. "We closed the gap in the wrong
direction tonight. We're in the drivers seat, but we
have to finish strong so we can keep control of whether or not we get in."
The
Bulldogs host Indiana
State Saturday at 7 p.m.
in the Drake Knapp Center.
