NORMAL, Ill. – The Illinois State Redbirds rallied to knock off the Drake Bulldogs, 3-2, in a Missouri Valley Conference match on Saturday night (Oct. 18) at Redbird Arena.

Drake (9-11, 1-8 MVC) claimed the first two sets of the contest before Illinois State (15-5, 9-0 MVC) rallied for the win, as it stays undefeated in league play and sits alone in first place in the conference standings. The Redbirds won by scores of 20-25, 23-25, 25-16, 25-18 and 15-6 over the Bulldogs.

“Illinois State came out sluggish, and we took advantage of that,” said head coach Darrin McBroom. “We played our game and took a 2-0 lead going into the half. They came out after the half and improved their game. We couldn't match them by finding that gear to go up another level. They are a very good team that is now alone at the top of the standings by two games.”

In the opening set, Drake pulled away from Illinois State late, holding a 21-15 as ISU was forced to call timeout. The timeout didn't slow the Bulldogs' momentum as they took the opening frame, 25-20.

The Bulldogs roared back from a 15-6 deficit in the second set to take a 23-22 late lead. The Redbirds called a timeout, but it wasn't enough as Drake held on for the 25-23 victory.

Illinois State controlled the final three sets as it only trailed one time during that span. The Redbirds smashed four consecutive kills in the final set to complete the rally.

Sophomore Makena Schoene (Seattle, Wash.) paced Drake's attack with 16 kills, while freshman Kyla Inderski (Urbandale, Iowa) and senior Amanda Platte (Mount Vernon, Iowa) had 11 and eight kills, respectively.

Sophomores Michelle Thommi (Omaha, Neb.) and Chandelle Davidson (Gretna, Neb.) set career marks with 30 digs and 32 assists, respectively.

“Makena had a really good night for us,” commented McBroom. “We switched things up with her and it opened her up a bit and she swung really well. Michelle Thommi had a really outstanding defensive night. She came up with some big digs for us.”

Drake will have just one match next week as it travels to Cedar Falls, Iowa to take on the UNI Panthers on Oct. 25. First serve is set for 7 p.m. at the McLeod Center.