DES MOINES, Iowa -
The Drake University volleyball team
dropped a hotly contested three-set (21-25, 23-25, 19-25) match to Missouri
Valley Conference rival Illinois State Saturday at the Knapp Center. The loss
put the Bulldogs at 6-12 overall and 2-3 in the Valley.
Junior middle blocker Emily Heffernen (Manchester, Iowa/West
Delaware) led Drake with 11 kills in just 15 swings for a team-best .667
hitting percentage. As a team, the Bulldogs hit .159 compared to Illinois State's
.295 mark.
Junior Bentley Mancini (Burnsville, Minn./Apple Valley)
tallied 10 kills for her third double-digit kill tally in her last four
matches. Mancini has totaled 51 kills in Drake's five MVC matches, second only
to Whitney Westrum's (Waukee, Iowa/Waukee) 63. Westrum notched just six kills
against the Redbirds, her lowest single-match total since tallying one kill
against Boise State August 27.
After dropping the opening set, 25-21, Drake rallied to a
23-21 lead on the back of senior Erika Price's (Littleton, Colo./Dakota Ridge)
service. The Redbirds countered after a Drake attack error, scoring
four-straight points to take the set.
Illinois State won game three behind six kills from Shannon
McGlaughlin, who finished the match with a game-high 17.
The Bulldogs head to Wichita, Kan. to meet Wichita State
Friday, Oct. 7. First serve is scheduled for 7 p.m.
