DES MOINES, Iowa – The Indiana State Sycamores knocked off the Drake Bulldogs in a three-set match Friday, Nov. 15. The Sycamores won by scores of 25-11, 25-21, 26-24 to improve 12-15, 5-10 MVC while the loss drops Drake to 2-25, 0-15 MVC.

Junior Amanda Platte (Mount Vernon, Iowa) paced the Bulldogs with 10 kills with just one attack error while hitting .360. Freshman Makena Schoene (Seattle, Wash.) earned her second career start and smashed a career-high nine kills to go along with one assist and one block.

Sophomore Rebecca Brown (Bentonville, Ark.) continued her strong play at the setter position with 23 assists, seven digs and one block. Senior libero Sarah Madden (Van Meter, Iowa), who last weekend moved into second place all-time in career digs, finished with a match-high 16 against the Sycamores.

Drake opened the match sluggish as Indiana State cruised to a 25-11 first set victory. The Bulldogs allowed 15 kills by Sycamores and converted just six on their side.

The second set was much closer as it featured four ties and three lead changes. Drake stormed back from a 23-16 deficit with five-straight points to force an Indiana State timeout with score at 23-21. However, the Bulldogs couldn't complete the rally as the Sycamores scored two straight to win 25-21.

Set three was another tightly contest frame that featured seven ties and five lead changes. The Bulldogs trailed most of the set until charging back to take a 22-20 lead. A controversial call went against the Bulldogs to put the score at 22-21. The Bulldogs overcame the call to extend their lead to 23-21 after a kill by freshman Tegan LaBerge (Maple Grove, Minn.). The rest of the set was back-and-forth as Drake sophomore Scarlett Howerter (Lincoln, Neb.) tied the set at 24-24 with her second kill of the set, but Indiana State captured the match with two straight points to win 26-24.

“I'm proud of our girls tonight,” said Drake head coach Darrin McBroom. “They overcame a horrendous start and battled in the second and third sets. We were close, but came up just short. I'm happy with how well Makena (Schoene) and Amanda (Platte) played tonight.”

The Bulldogs return to action Sunday, Nov. 17 when they visit Illinois State with first serve set for 2 p.m.