DES MOINES, Iowa -
Junior outside hitter Bentley Mancini totaled a team-best 13 kills, including
nine in the decisive fourth set, to power the Drake University volleyball team
to a 3-1 Missouri Valley Conference victory over Bradley. Game scores were
25-22, 25-19, 25-22, 26-24.
The Bulldogs (7-15, 3-6 MVC) called on Mancini (Burnsville,
Minn./Apple Valley) 19 times during game four with the junior coming through
for nine of Drake's 17 kills. Mancini gave Drake a 20-19 fourth-set lead with a
kill that stopped a three-point Bradley rally. The Braves scored the game's
next two points to grab a 21-20 lead, but Mancini tallied three-straight kills to
position Drake for the win.
"She's the steady hitter that everyone trusts," head coach
Tony Sunga said of Mancini. "No matter how everyone else is doing, they trust
that she'll do her job. The team believes in her. She's that lifeblood that we
need."
Mancini's 13-kill total serves as the junior's
second-highest mark of her career. She tallied 18 kills at Kansas State on Sept.
12.
Senior setter Caitlin Johnson (Sycamore, Ill./Sycamore) totaled her ninth double-double of the
season, and first since Sept. 30 against Indiana State, with 29 assists and 12
digs. Like Mancini, Johnson saved her best for last, tallying 14 of her 29
assists in the fourth set and adding a kill, a solo block, and two service aces
to deciding-set total.
"They [Bradley] forced us to elevate our game," Sunga said. "We
became more consistent at the end of each set, but we have to get out of the
gate faster. If we stay confident, in the end we'll come out on top."
Junior Whitney Westrum (Waukee, Iowa/Waukee) totaled 10
kills and 12 digs for her eighth double-double of the season and
second-straight. Westrum added three solo blocks and a service ace.
Junior Sarah Madden (Van Meter, Iowa/Adel-DeSoto-Minburn)
totaled a career-high 30 digs in the winning effort, including a game-best 12
in game four.
"She [Madden] hung in there and did what she could control,"
Sunga said. "She kept it simple. We trust her back there."
For Bradley (7-11, 1-8 MVC), the loss certainly was a case
of tough luck. The Braves outblocked Drake 15-7, tallied more digs (83-79),
more assists (46-45), a better hitting percentage (.135-.119) and fewer attack
errors (28-32) and lost.
The Bulldogs travel to South Dakota for a 7 p.m. matchup on Monday.
