DES MOINES, Iowa- The Drake University volleyball team suffered a 3-0 loss Saturday night to one of the top teams in the Missouri Valley Conference as Wichita State defeated the Bulldogs at the Knapp Center.

Wichita State, (14-6, 5-1 MVC) prevailed by set scores of 25-12, 25-23, 25-11, behind 10 kills apiece from Shimen Fayad and Mikaela Raudsepp as the Shockers hit at a .393 clip. Drake (12-12, 3-4 MVC) was paced by by nine kills from freshman Grace Schofield (Mundelein, Ill.) and 10 digs from Michelle Thommi (Omaha, Neb.).

“We can't miss the opportunity to learn from tonight,” said Drake head coach Darrin McBroom. "We failed to execute on so many levels and we have to figure out the things we failed to do to compete."

Wichita took an early 10-6 lead in the first set and later used runs of  4-0 and 5-0 to cruise to a 25-12 win in the set.

The Bulldogs rallied back in the second set, matching WSU nearly point-for-point. Drake held an 18-16 lead in the set off of a kill from Taylor Zant (Libertyville, Ill.), but WSU scored four of the next six points to tie the match at 20-20. A WSU error gave Drake a brief, 21-20, lead, but three kills down the stretch – two from Raudsepp and one from Jody Larson – gave WSU the cushion it needed to prevail, 25-23.

“We didn't do anything different in the second set,” McBroom said. “It was just a matter of execution. If you're not brining our best against one of the top teams in the league, you're going get an ugly outcome and tonight we got that."

The third set was tight to begin until Wichita State went on a 6-0 run to take control of the match behind Fayad's serving. The Bulldogs weren't able to recover from that barrage and recapture the momentum of the second set. A pair of late 4-0 runs from the Shockers propelled them to a 25-11 win in the set.

The Bulldogs return to the court on Tuesday, Oct. 13, at Bradley. The Braves, who have dropped 12-straight matches, are 0-6 in the MVC and 5-13 overall. First serve is set for 5 p.m.

“Going on the road, we have performed well this season,” McBroom added. “But Bradley is going to be at home and they're going to be ready play.”