DES MOINES, Iowa - The Drake University volleyball team swept a pair of matches Friday during the first day of the Hotel Renovo-Wildwood Lodge Invitational at the Knapp Center. The Bulldogs defeated both Eastern Illinois and South Dakota State, 3-0. With the wins, the Bulldogs remain unbeaten at 8-0 this season.
 
Drake prevailed against Eastern Illinois by set scores of 25-22, 25-19 and 25-14. In the nightcap, the Bulldogs pushed past SDSU, 25-20, 27-25, 25-23.
 
The Bulldogs hit a combined .250 in the wins with Cathryn Cheek (Coppell, Texas) and Emily Plock (Altoona, Iowa) recording 24 and 23 kills, respectively. Plock only committed two hitting errors all day to hit a combined .447 in the wins. Elle Tubbs (Clinton, Iowa) had an equally impressive day, hitting .545 with 18 kills and eight blocks.
 
"I'm excited we got the wins and got them done in three sets. It was a good test for us," said Drake head coach Darrin McBroom. "We did an excellent job in serve-receive and Emily Plock had a tremendous day for us. And it was a good day for our middles too."
 
The evening match against SDSU began with Drake University president Marty Martin hitting the ceremonial first serve in front of the home crowd celebrating the opening weekend in the Knapp Center.
 
Callan Holmes (Lorena, Texas), who had 18 kills on the day, and Cheek continued their net play in the second match by giving the Bulldogs five kills each to lead the Bulldogs to a convincing 25-20 first set victory. Drake was able to hold off the Jackrabbits in the second set with the help of crucial digs down the stretch by Madi Ford (Coralville, Iowa) where they held off for a 27-25 set victory. Holmes and Cheek continued to lead their team in set two with six and seven kills, respectively.
 
The third set came down to the wire when the Bulldogs trailed, 21-22, against the Jackrabbits. A kill from Tubbs began the rally as Drake forced an SDSU timeout, leading 23-22. A block from Gracie Schofield (Mundelein, Ill.) gave the Bulldogs a 24-22 lead forcing another Jackrabbit timeout. After the Jackrabbits found a hole in the Bulldog defense to pull within two, a convincing kill from Cheek ended the set to earn the second 3-0 sweep of the day.
 
"We got some big leads and let them slip away so there is room to get better, but we're learning how to play with expectations and defend those expectations better," McBroom said.
The Bulldogs were able to play nearly their entire roster in the afternoon match as they cruised past Eastern Illinois in three sets. Tubbs led a quartet of Bulldogs in double-figure kills by matching a career high with 12 kills. Her kills came on 22 attempts with no errors for a .545 hitting percentage. She also added a team-high six blocks.
 
Cheek, Plock and Holmes (Lorena, Texas) each added 10 kills. Madi Ford (Coralville, Iowa) made her first start at libero and recorded 32 digs.
 
Tubbs recorded five of her kills in the opening set including set point to help hold off an EIU rally for the 25-22 win. The second set saw Drake roll out to a 17-10 lead off of six kills from Plock to cruise to a 25-19 win. The Bulldogs deployed their bench for the second set, but did not relent in pounding EIU, 25-14, in the final set. Holmes notched seven of her 10 kills in that set to establish the tone in the Bulldogs' first win of the day.
 
The Bulldogs return to the Knapp Center tomorrow at 12:30 p.m. where they will take on UMass Lowell followed by a match against in-state foe, Iowa for their fourth and final match of the Hotel Renovo-Wildwood Invitational at 6 p.m. Both matches will be broadcasted on ESPN+.