OMAHA, Neb. – The Drake University volleyball team improved to 5-1 with a convincing 3-0 sweep of Ball State to open the Omaha Classic on Friday, Sept. 2, evening.
The Bulldogs took the match by set scores of 25-20, 25-22, 25-18 to dispatch the Cardinals in three sets while hitting .231.
Kyla Inderski (Urbandale, Iowa) led the Bulldogs again with 11 kills on 34 attempts while notching 13 digs on defense.
Grace Schofield (Mundelein, Ill.) added eight kills on 13 attempts while
Michelle Thommi (Omaha, Neb.) continued her strong defense with 23 digs.
Kameo Pope (Belle Plaine, Iowa) posted another strong showing at the net with eight blocks, including two solo stops, to help the Bulldogs hold an 11-6 advantage in blocks.
"Tonight was a good match for our team, winning in three sets was great and I'm pleased with the way we did that," said head coach
Darrin McBroom. "Our blocking was really strong with 11 team blocks and that gave Ball State trouble. We had moments where we slowed down but we refocused and got back in the game. It was a great night but tomorrow will get tougher."
The first set was tied early until three Ball State errors helped fuel a 5-1 run to create a 12-8 lead that later ballooned to 17-10 en route to the 25-20 win. Drake never led by more than three points in the second set until the Bulldogs closed the set on a 4-0 run to rally for the 25-22 win. A kill by
Makena Schoene (Seattle, Wash.) started that run while
Courtney Morehead's (Bellevue, Neb.) serving forced the Cardinals into three-straight errors to end the set.
Drake kept the pressure on in the third set as
Chandelle Davidson (Gretna, Neb.) scored three of the Bulldogs' first four points on aces to give Drake an early 4-0 lead. The Cardinals later tied the match at 14-14, but a 6-0 run behind Pope's serving gave Drake a comfortable lead to cruise to the 25-18 win to take the match.
The Bulldogs return to the court on Saturday for the final two matches of the Omaha Classic. The team faces UMKC first at 10 a.m. followed by a 2 p.m. match against the hosts, Omaha.
