DES MOINES, Iowa – A tough Wichita State team swept the Drake volleyball team, 3-0, at the Knapp Center Saturday night.

Wichita State (13-3, 3-0 MVC), coming off a four-set victory over Northern Iowa Friday night, took tonight's match 25-11, 25-23 and 25-16. Elizabeth Field and Ashley Andrade paced the Shockers with 12 and 11 kills, respectively. Wichita State finished with a .328 hitting percentage and 54 kills.

Drake (2-14, 0-4 MVC) was led by sophomore Cassie Effken's (Lincoln, Neb.), who continues to play well since returning from a leg injury that sidelined her for six matches, 10 kills, while hitting a stellar .348. Sophomore Shelby Daum (Battle Creek, Neb.) added seven kills and three blocks, while junior Amanda Platte (Mount Vernon, Iowa) had five kills, two digs and two blocks.

It was all Wichita State in set one as they cruised to a 25-11 win behind an outstanding .424 hitting percentage and 17 kills to just three attack errors. Drake finished with just six kills along with six attack errors.

Set two was closer as the Bulldogs battled back to cut Wichita State's lead to 23-21 and forced the Shockers to call their first timeout of the night. Drake added another point after the timeout off an attack error by Wichita State, but Chelsey Feekin answered with a kill to extend WSU's lead to 24-22. Freshman Capris Quaites (Omaha, Neb.) answered right back with a kill, but it wasn't enough as Ashley Driskill ended the set in the Shockers favor with a kill to win 25-23. The frame featured three score ties and one lead change.

Drake scored first in the third set with a kill by Platte, but Wichita State came back to take a 9-5 advantage, which forced the Bulldogs to use a timeout. Drake had no answer after the break as Wichita State built a 13-6 lead as the Bulldogs quickly called their final timeout. Drake couldn't overcome the deficit as Wichita State rolled to the 25-16 win.

“We are always looking to get more consistent on every aspect,” said Effken. “We didn't start as strong as we would like in the opener, but I thought we did some very good things in set two. There were some great things we can take away from tonight and build on as we move forward to our next matches.”

Senior captain Sarah Madden (Van Meter, Iowa) led the Drake defensive effort finishing with a match-high 20 digs, while sophomore Rebecca Brown (Bentonville, Ark.) had a team-high 26 assists.

“I think we are doing a lot of the little things right,” said Madden. “I think there are many things starting to come together. We are a very young team, but our freshmen and sophomores are getting confidence and realizing there isn't time to be a young player and they are having the opportunity to make an impact right away.”

Drake travels to UNI next Saturday, Oct. 5 in its only match of the week. First serve against the Panthers is set for 7 p.m. at the McLeod Center.