IOWA CITY, Iowa – The Drake University volleyball team began the final day of the Hawkeye Challenge by defeating Gardner-Webb, 3-0, Saturday morning before falling to Iowa, 3-0, in its afternoon match.

The matches were the Bulldogs final non-conference action prior to beginning Missouri Valley Conference play next weekend with a 9-8 non-conference record.

Drake swept Gardner-Webb by set scores of 25-23, 25-17, 25-15, as freshman Grace Schofield (Mundelein, Ill.) recorded 12 kills while Chandelle Davidson (Gretna, Neb.) had 24 of the team's 38 assists.

“After narrowly defeating Gardner-Webb on Friday night in what was not a pretty match, we got better each set against them and played significantly better this morning,” Drake head coach Darrin McBroom said.

In the afternoon, the Bulldogs ran into a buzzsaw as the Hawkeyes reeled off their eighth-straight win to improve to 10-3 by scores of 25-15, 25-12, 25-16. Sophomore Kyla Inderski (Urbandale, Iowa) posted a double-double in the loss with 10 kills and 15 digs.

“I was pleased with our performance against Iowa as we went in as the clear underdog and responded well,” McBroom said. “Our team played with great integrity and character in terms of representing themselves, the University and the game well. The scores don't necessarily reflect how well our team played. We challenged Iowa at times but they were simply the larger and more physical team. We played with them at times I was pleased with that.”

A pair of Bulldogs also garnered all-tournament honors for their efforts in the four games this weekend. Setter Rebecca Brown (Bentonville, Ark.) and Inderksi both earned the honor after guiding the Bulldogs to a 2-2 record on the weekend. Inderski finished the four games with 33 kills for a 2.75 kills per set average with a team-high 61 digs for a 5.08 digs per set average. She also added three blocks and three aces. Brown played in all 13 sets and led the Bulldogs with 70 assists and four aces.

The Bulldogs begin MVC play on Friday, Sept. 25 at 6 p.m. against Evansville followed by a Sept. 26 match against SIU at 7 p.m.

-DRAKE-