MARTIN, Tenn. – The Drake University volleyball team dropped matches to Valparaiso, 3-0, and Western Carolina, 3-0, on Saturday at the Skyhawk Invitational. Drake fell by scores of 25-21, 25-15 and 25-16 to Valparaiso and by scores of 25-12, 25-22 and 25-23 to Western Carolina to fall to 8-3 on the season.

“Our fundamentals were off today in both matches,” commented head coach Darrin McBroom. “Our passing was off, our hitting was poor and we struggled with errors. We made more errors today than we have all season. The big win Friday night over UT Martin, gave us overconfidence and we weren't prepared to face two strong opponents in Valparaiso and Western Carolina.”

Freshman Kyla Inderski (Urbandale, Iowa) smashed 10 kills against Valparaiso, registering a .226 hitting percentage. As a team the Bulldogs hit just .134, while the Crusaders hit .333.

Sophomore Capris Quaites (Omaha, Neb.) added seven kills, while sophomore Michelle Thommi (Omaha, Neb.) had a match-high 17 digs in back row action.

Inderski connected for a team-high 13 kills along with nine digs against Western Carolina, while sophomore Makena Schoene (Seattle, Wash.) recorded nine kills. Thommi posted a match-high 20 digs and added two service aces.

Drake struggled with its hitting against Western Carolina, registering just a .179 hitting percentage, while the Catamounts connected for a .312 percentage. The hitting percentages by Valparaiso and Western Carolina are the highest opponent hitting percentages allowed by the Bulldogs all season.

“The match against Valparaiso started off similar to our match against North Dakota earlier this season,” McBroom said. “We started off great, but lost steam and could not recover. Against Western Carolina we looked to rebound with a better performance, but we fell into the same mindset we struggled with against Valparaiso.”

Drake starts Missouri Valley Conference play against Bradley on Sept. 19 at the Knapp Center with first serve is set for 7 p.m.

“We will work on our basics this week, McBroom. “We have to cut down the errors and take care of the ball better. We need better execution on our side of the net as we get ready to start MVC play, but we are excited to get back home and play on our home court.”