OMAHA, Neb. – The Drake University volleyball team captured the first two sets then held off a rally attempt by UMKC to win its season opening match in five sets (25-20, 25-21, 23-25, 22-25, 15-12) at the Omaha Classic.

“I'm so proud of our team and the resiliency they showed today,” said head coach Darrin McBroom. “We got off to a great start, really out playing them in the first two sets. We got sloppy and to comfortable in third and fourth sets and even at the start of the fifth by following behind. However, we recovered and never gave up in a huge test of going the distance to five sets.”

Drake (1-0) was led offensively by two newcomers as freshman Kyla Inderski (Urbandale, Iowa) recorded a double-double with 17 kills and 18 digs, while sophomore transfer Nicole Woods (St. Charles, Ill.) smashed 13 kills. Inderski added five blocks, three digs and a service ace in her collegiate debut.

Another newcomer Chandelle Davidson (Gretna, Neb.) dished out 30 assists in her first match with the Bulldogs, while junior Katie Dulek (Lenexa, Kan.) tallied eight blocks at the middle blocker position. Dulek missed most of last season after suffering a shoulder injury.

“Kyla and Nicole were excellent for us as “pin hitters”,” McBroom said. “They each swung well and finished above .200. Chandelle got the start today and really did a nice job. We weren't perfect today by any means, but we did enough of the little things to win.”

The Bulldogs claimed wins in the first and second sets before the Kangaroos battled back with wins in the third and fourth sets to force a deciding fifth frame. In the fifth set, UMKC jumped out to a 4-1 advantage as Drake was forced to call a timeout. Out of the timeout, the Bulldogs evened the score at 5-5 as it was the Kangaroos turn to use a timeout.

After the timeout, Drake built an 11-8 lead as UMKC was forced to call its final timeout. The Kangaroos trimmed their deficit to 11-10 as the Bulldogs used their final timeout. However, it was all Drake after the timeout as Inderski smashed a kill to secure the final point and the victory.

Woods transferred from the University of Memphis, while Davidson played her freshman season at Hastings College (Neb.).

Drake closes out the Omaha Classic with matches against UNO and Central Michigan on Saturday at noon and 3 p.m., respectively.