HARRISONBURG, Va. – The Drake University volleyball team swept Hampton, 3-0, to open play at the JMU Invitational Friday afternoon in Harrisonburg, Va. The win pushed the Bulldogs to 4-1 to open the season as the team prevailed by set scores of 25-22, 27-25, 25-16.
 
The Bulldogs hit .247 as a team with Missouri Valley Conference Freshman of the Week Emily Plock (Altoona, Iowa) leading the way with 10 kills on 20 attempts. Cathryn Cheek (Coppell, Texas) added nine kills and seven digs while Paige Aspinwall (Dayton, Minn.) and Alexa Aldrich-Ingram (Iowa City, Iowa) combined for 31 assists.

"I'm happy with the outcome and a 3-0 sweep today," said Drake head coach Darrin McBroom. "We struggled some early but showed great resolve in the third set. Emily Plock and Natalie Fry had big games as freshmen today that helped us win this match."
 
The first set went back-and-forth early with Drake falling behind by as many as four points before the set was tied at 22-22. A kill by Plock, a Hampton error and finally a Morehead aces pushed the Bulldogs to the 25-22 win to open the match. The second set was equally contested with neither team leading by more than three points throughout the extended set in which Drake prevailed, 27-25. Kills from Inderski, Cheek and Natalie Fry (Allen, Texas) helped push the Bulldogs to the 2-0 lead in the match. Fry finished with four kills on seven attempts.
 
The final set started close as well until the Bulldogs found the accelerator and pushed it to the tune of a 12-2 run that opened up a 15-5 lead. The Bulldogs did not let up in cruising to the 25-16 win in the third set to sweep Hampton, 3-0.
 
The Bulldogs return to the court to continue play at the JMU Invitational Saturday, Sept. 2, at 9 a.m. against Cornell. The team will then face host JMU at 6:30 p.m. to conclude the two-day event.