DES MOINES, Iowa - The Drake women's volleyball team closed their home season with a commanding 3-1 win over Indiana State Saturday night at the Knapp Center.  A pair of Drake seniors, Jadranka Tramosljanin (Ruma, Serbia) and Bentley Mancini (Burnsville, Minn.) were honored prior to the match.

Game scores were 25-21, 25-22, 20-25 and 25-13. With the victory Drake moves to 5-22 overall and 4-12 in the Missouri Valley Conference and Indiana State falls to 3-23 overall and 1-15 in the MVC.

The Bulldogs used a balanced offensive attack to keep the Sycamores at bay. Freshman Cassie Effken (Lincoln, Neb.) led the team with 14 kills on the night. Not far behind were Tramosljanin and sophomore Amanda Platte (Mount Vernon, Iowa) with 12 each. Katie Dulek (Lenexa, Kan.) had 11 kills. Tramosljanin added 16 digs for her team-leading 14^th double-double. Mancini suffered a torn ACL a week ago in the Bradley match and is out for the season. A two-time letterwinner and a senior captain this season, she ends her four-year career with 524 kills.

Sarah Madden (Van Meter, Iowa) showed the importance of a strong defensive presence again. Indiana State avoided hitting towards her most of the evening but Madden still managed to have a match-high 27 digs. Going into last night's contest, Madden led the MVC in digs per set at 5.84, which also ranked ninth in the nation.

Drake led throughout the first set, taking an early lead at 2-1. The Sycamores tied the set at 12-12 and 14-14 before Drake went on a 4-1 run led by Effken. Indiana State pulled within two at 23-21 before the Bulldogs rattled off two points to win the set, 25-21. Drake had 17 team kills, four each by Tramosljanin, Effken and Dulek and only six attack errors. Sophomore Halli Meyer (Bettendorf, Iowa) had seven assists. Cassandra Willis finished with a set-high six kills for the Sycamores.

A balanced Bulldog effort helped them jump out to a big lead in the second set going on a 10-0 run to build the lead to 11-1.  A running kill by Dulek gave Drake their largest lead at 16-5 before they allowed Indiana State to creep back into the set. Behind 11 assists from Loni Mackinson the Sycamores brought the set to within two at 23-21. A drop shot by Tramosljanin followed by a block by Dulek helped the Bulldogs win the set, 25-22. Madden had 12 digs and Meyer and Rebecca Brown (Bentonville, Ark.) chipped in six and five assists, respectively.

The third set was the tightest contest of the evening. It featured seven ties and three lead changes. The Sycamores took an early lead but Drake battled back to take the lead at 7-6 after an Effken kill. Indiana State then went on a 6-3 run but Drake again tied the score at 14-14 and then 18-18. The Sycamores used a combination of open hits and Bulldog errors to end the set on a 7-2 run to win, 25-20.

The Bulldogs took the lead at 4-3 early in set four and never looked back winning 25-13. Drake used a 7-0 run and a 6-0 run to cruise to the match victory. Freshman Shelby Daum (Battle Creek, Neb.) smashed the winning point.

Drake will finish the 2012 season with a pair of road matches, first at Missouri State on Friday, Nov. 16 at 7 p.m. and the following night at Wichita State. The WSU match will also start at 7 p.m.