TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – The Drake University volleyball team extended its winning streak to 10 matches and remained on top of the Missouri Valley Conference standings with a 3-0 win at Indiana State on Saturday, Oct. 7.
The Bulldogs improved to 6-0 in the MVC and 17-3 overall to match last year's win total and continue the team's best start to conference play since 1996.
"I'm really happy with tonight's outcome and I felt we played well as a team tonight," said Drake head coach Darrin McBroom. "We started sluggishly, but finished with a lot of enthusiasm and everybody did their part tonight. To be at 17 wins at this point in the season is pretty impressive and I'm so proud of this team. We're looking forward to bringing it home next weekend."
Drake prevailed by set scores of 25-23, 25-18, 25-18, to earn its ninth sweep of the year and third in conference action. The 10-match win streak also ties for the second longest in program history.
Drake's convincing road win at Indiana State (5-13, 3-3 MVC) was led by senior Kyla Inderski's (Urbandale, Iowa) eighth double-double in the last nine games with 10 kills on 31 attempts and 16 digs. Junior Cathryn Cheek (Coppell, Texas) added 11 kills and five blocks to help Drake outblock Indiana State, 9-3.5. As a team, Drake hit .243 while the defense, which had four Bulldogs record double-figure digs, limited ISU to .123 hitting. Paige Aspinwall (Dayton, Minn.) was one of those with double-figure digs as her 12 digs paired with a team-high 26 assists accounted for her sixth double-double of the year.
"A lot of players stepped up tonight and played their roles," McBroom added. "We had a balanced attack tonight. Certainly, the outside hitters dominated, but everyone did their part. We kept our errors low and I'm excited about the outcome."
Helping add to that balanced attack were strong performances from junior Grace Schofield (Mundelein, Ill.) who had four kills on eight attempts and freshman Gillian Gergen (Janesville, Iowa) with five kills on seven attempts, including the match winner, and four blocks at the net.
Indiana State was led by Sarah Peterson's 13 kills as the Sycamores were held to just 34 kills in the three sets.
The first set was tight throughout before Drake pulled away for the 25-23 win despite committing seven of their 15 errors of the night in the set. The Bulldogs overcame that slow start and jumped out to an early 12-6 lead in the second set and held that advantage for nearly the rest of the set with Cheek picking up six kills in the set to prevail, 25-18. The Bulldogs kept their foot on the accelerator in the final set, rolling out to a 19-9 lead behind a pair of 5-0 runs. The Sycamores chipped away at that lead but gained no traction in dropping the set, 25-18, and the match 3-0.
The Bulldogs aim to add to their winning streak and remain on top of the Valley standings with a pair of home matches next week. The two-game homestand begins Friday, October 13, at 7 p.m. against Missouri State and concludes Saturday, October 14, against SIU at 7 p.m.
