WICHITA, Kan.  – The Drake Bulldogs dropped a hard fought three-set match set against the Wichita State Shockers on Friday night in Wichita. The win and a loss by Illinois State to Indiana State tonight the Shockers took over sole procession of first-place in the conference standings.

Wichita State (20-4, 9-1 MVC) won tonight's match 25-23, 25-17 and 25-13 as the Shockers connected on 42 kills. Drake (2-20, 0-10 MVC) was paced by Katie Allen's (Mokena, Ill.) team-high eight kills.

The Shockers built a 16-12 lead in the opening set, which forced the Bulldogs to call their first timeout. Out of the break, Drake trimmed the deficit to 17-15 as Wichita State used its first timeout. Amanda Platte (Mount Vernon, Iowa) smashed a kill to tie the score at 19-19 as the Shockers quickly called their final timeout. Following the timeout the Shockers scored three of the next four points to go up 22-20, which forced the Bulldogs to call their final timeout. Drake didn't back down after the timeout getting to within 23-22 and 24-23, before Platte's attack error gave Wichita State the win 25-23.

“I'm very proud of our team tonight especially their performance in the opening set,” said Drake head coach Darrin McBroom. “The first set was a picture of the team we can be and want to be moving forward. We stayed under control and did the little things right that we practiced all week. Everybody did their part.”

“We didn't give away points in the first,” said McBroom. “Wichita State struggled with errors and we did a great job of staying with our game plan. We did a fantastic job of side outing at 62 percent.”

Set two featured four score ties and one lead change as the Shockers won 25-17. Wichita State closed out the match win with a 25-13 decision in the third set.

Sophomore setter Rebecca Brown (Bentonville, Ark.) continues to play well for the Bulldogs finishing with a team-high 25 assists. She added four digs and three kills, while hitting a team-best .286. Sarah Madden (Van Meter, Iowa) led Drake's defensive effort with 12 digs.

Drake's next match is tomorrow night (Oct. 26) at Missouri State with first serve scheduled for 7 p.m. Live stats will be available at www.GoDrakeBulldogs.com.