DES MOINES, Iowa - The Drake University volleyball team finished the final day of the Hotel Renovo-Wildwood Lodge Invitational by grabbing a 3-0 victory over UMass Lowell before falling to Iowa in the final match of the tournament, 3-0, at the Knapp Center.
 
Drake defeated UMass Lowell by set scores of 25-22, 25-13, 25-16 and fell to Iowa, 34-32, 25-23, 25-15.
 
The loss was the first of the Bulldogs' season as they are 9-1 heading into the last week of non-conference action. Additionally, the Bulldogs have won 27-of-31 sets they have played in this season.
 
"Overall, I'm pleased with our team this weekend. We knew it would be a challenging tournament," said Drake head coach Darrin McBroom. "This evening was a great test for our team to see where we're at and how we can match up with a team when we may be outsized and outgunned in some areas. I'm proud of the way we played tonight."  
Drake closed out the tournament with a 3-1 record to claim the tournament title while Elle Tubbs (Clinton, Iowa) was named the tournament MVP. She hit .434 with 28 kills and added 12 blocks for the Bulldogs. Emily Plock (Altoona, Iowa) and Callan Holmes (Lorena, Texas) were also named to the all-tournament team for their efforts in leading the Bulldogs. Plock had 39 kills on 92 attempts while Holmes had 30 kills and a team-high 42 digs.
 
In the evening match against in-state foe Iowa (4-3), Cathryn Cheek (Coppell, Texas) led the Bulldogs with 11 kills but accounted for nearly a third of the Bulldogs 157 attempts. Gillian Gergen (Janesville, Iowa) and Emily Plock (Altoona, Iowa) added nine kills each.
 
"We fought to end, and there was no panic, it was a great test and something we can grow from and move forward from," McBroom added.
 
Iowa hit .248 in the win, the highest an opponent has hit against the Bulldogs this season.
 
The Bulldogs fell to a 9-4 deficit in the opening set against Iowa but battled back and took their first lead at 12-11. It was point-for-point for the remainder of the set. Strong defense kept the Bulldogs in the set as neither team would fold. A critical serving error by the Hawkeyes tied the Bulldogs at 28, but Iowa quickly recovered to take the 29-28 lead. Two fantastic rallies ended with kills from Gergen and Cheek and the Hawkeyes were forced to take a timeout. Iowa came out swinging and finished the match with a 34-32 victory. 
 
The Bulldogs jumped out to a 7-4 lead to begin the second set, but the Hawkeyes bounced back to take their largest lead at 19-15. Drake tied the set at 21, but after both a blocking and attacking error by the Bulldogs, the Hawkeyes took the second set 25-23. 
 
The Bulldogs never led in the third set as Iowa completed the sweep by cruising to a 25-15 victory over the Bulldogs in the final set as the Bulldogs admittedly 'ran out of gas' according to Coach McBroom after playing four matches in two days.
 
Drake began the day by on a higher note by downing the UMass Lowell River Hawks, 3-0 for the Bulldogs' ninth-straight win to that point.
 
The first set went back and forth, and neither team was able to string together a run large enough to pull away. Following a media timeout with UMass Lowell leading 15-13, Drake came out firing to even the score. The River Hawks slowed the Bulldogs' momentum, but Drake managed to give themselves a 24-21 lead forcing a UMass Lowell timeout. Unphased by the timeout, Drake closed out the set with a 25-22 win.
 
Drake came out swinging in set two taking an early 7-1 lead. The Bulldogs continued their run by pulling away to an 18-7 lead and ultimately finished with a convincing 25-13 second set victory with the final two points coming off of back-to-back kills from Cheek.
 
Drake got an early lead in the third set, but the River Hawks kept themselves within reach until calling a timeout with the Bulldogs leading 13-7. Following the timeout, Drake pulled away with a set score of 25-16 to sweep the match. The sweep was the Bulldogs eighth of the season to date.
 
The Bulldogs will hit the road to Columbia, Mo., next to play in the MIzzou Invitational Sept. 14 and 15. There they will take on Ohio, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi on Friday and finish with host, Missouri on Saturday.
 
The next home game will mark the opening of Missouri Valley Conference play when the Bulldogs open against in-state rival UNI. That game will be at 7 p.m. in the Knapp Center and broadcast on ESPN+.