DES MOINES, Iowa – Led by a duo with double-figure kills, Valparaiso defeated the Drake University volleyball team, 3-0, Saturday, Oct. 27, evening at the Knapp Center to sweep the season series between the two teams.

Valparaiso (21-6, 8-4 MVC) prevailed by set scores of 25-16, 25-18, 25-20.

Des Moines native Riley Dolphin led Drake (16-10, 5-7 MVC) in hitting with five kills on 12 attempts to hit .250 as Drake was held to .093 hitting as a team. Cathryn Cheek (Coppell, Texas) recorded 10 kills on 45 attempts to run her streak of games with double-figure kills to eight.

Allison Ketcham and Lizzie Zaleski paced Valpo with 13 and 10 kills, respectively. Both hit above .300 as the Crusaders converted at .225 rate as a team.

Valpo earned a sideout on 14-of-17 opportunities in the first set to easily cruise past the Bulldogs, 25-16. The second set was tied midway through at 12-12 until the Crusaders started to pull away and closed the set on a 6-2 run.

Drake faced a 17-10 deficit in the third set, but a 9-4 run pulled the Bulldogs within two points at 21-19 on back-to-back Valpo errors and a kill from Grace Schofield (Mundelein, Ill.). However, Valpo answered with a pair of kills to stretch its lead back out and eventually win the set, 25-20, to earn the three-set sweep of the Bulldogs.

Drake remains at home but steps out of conference for its next match Monday, Oct. 29, evening against Chicago State. First serve versus the Cougars is set for 7 p.m. in the Knapp Center.