DES MOINES, Iowa – The Drake University volleyball team (16-9, 5-6 MVC) suffered a 3-0 loss to Loyola (14-9, 6-5 MVC) to open its three-match homestand Friday, Oct. 26. Both teams began the evening tied for fifth in the Missouri Valley Conference standings with Loyola now owning a one-game lead over the Bulldogs.

The Ramblers prevailed by set scores of 25-23, 25-23 and 26-24 to earn a split of the season series with Drake.

The Bulldogs were led by Cathryn Cheek (Coppell, Texas) who registered a double-double with 19 kills on 43 attempts to go along with 10 digs. The senior has now registered double-figure kills in seven-straight matches.

After a slow start in the opening set, the Bulldogs trailed 15-11 to the Ramblers at the media timeout. Despite back to back kills from Natalie Fry (Allen, Texas) down the stretch to tie the score at 23, Loyola scored the final two points to take the first set, 25-23. Fry ended the night with eight kills and two aces while hitting a team-best .389.

Drake jumped out to an early 4-1 lead in the second set behind strong serving from Elle Tubbs, (Clinton, Iowa) who also ended with two aces on the night. It was point-for-point for the remainder of the set, but the Bulldogs' 12 kills were cancelled out by 12 attacking errors, giving Loyola the set victory, 25-23, and a quick 2-0 lead in the match.

Trailing early in the third set, the Bulldogs put together a 10-5 run to tie the third set at 19-19, forcing a Rambler timeout to try and break Paige Aspinwall's (Dayton, Minn.) serving. A Loyola hitting error following the break gave Drake its first lead of the set, but the Ramblers answered back to take the final set, 26-24.

Loyola was led by Quinn Spieker and Gabi Maciagowski who both had 11 kills on the night. The pair also added three blocks each to help the Ramblers outblock the Bulldogs, 9-4.

Drake continues its three-game homestand with a match Saturday, Oct. 27, against Valparaiso. The Bulldogs are looking to avenge the 3-0 loss they took at Valpo earlier in conference play. First serve is set for at 7 p.m. at the Knapp Center on ESPN+.