DES MOINES, IOWA - The Drake University volleyball team earned a
three-set (25-22, 25-20, 25-16) victory over Green Bay in its first game of the
Hampton Inn Bulldog Challenge. The Bulldogs won their 10th straight match,
adding to the school record for best start and tying the 1996 team for the
longest winning streak in the modern era (1995-present).
We're proud of the streak but we don't really talk about
it," said head coach Phil McDaniel. "We
know that the most important match we play is the next one."
Junior setter Caitlin Johnson (Sycamore, Ill.) tallied her third double-double of the season with
26 assists and 10 digs.
Senior outside hitter Angela Bys (Marion, Iowa) tallied a game-high 11 kills and was a
dig short of a double-double with nine. Bys also displayed solid serving
skills, leading the Bulldogs on long runs in the second and third sets.
Drake sprinted to a 17-11 lead in the first set, but
ceded its lead to a 7-1 Green Bay run. The Bulldogs used back-to-back blocks by
Michelle Reidy (Dubuque, Iowa) and Whitney Westrum (Waukee, Iowa) and took
advantage of several Green Bay errors to extend a 24-22 lead. Junior outside hitter
Mikayla Sims (Waterloo, Iowa)
tallied her lone kill of the first set to give Drake the 25-22 game one
victory.
Drake grabbed an early 9-1 lead behind nifty serving from
Bys. The senior served the Bulldogs to 10 points during the set and tallied
Drake's game-clinching point with her seventh kill of the match.
The Bulldogs went on a 13-0 run after trailing 14-10. Bys
again served Drake through the run.
"She got in a nice run at the end of that third set, and
we really needed it," McDaniel said. "With her able to execute on her jump
serve it made things much more efficient for us."
Westrum tallied five of her eight kills in the third set
and was a driving force of Drake's 13-0 run.
"We were able to get her into a bit of a rhythm there,"
McDaniel said. "She's a very solid attacker and a gifted athlete. We find
different ways to use her athleticism."
The Bulldogs improved to 10-0. Green Bay fell to 3-6.
Drake meets Idaho State in the final game of day one of
the Hampton Inn Bulldog Challenge tonight at 7:30 p.m. in the Knapp Center.
