DES MOINES, Iowa - The Drake University volleyball team began their home season Friday evening with a 3-0 sweep of visiting Eastern Washington as part of the Drake Invitational presented by Hotel Renovo/Revel Hotel.
 
Drake defeated the Eagles by set scores of 25-15, 25-22, 25-21 to improve to 3-1 on the young season. 
 
Reigning Missouri Valley Conference Freshman of the Week Haley Bush (Waukee, Iowa) and junior Emily Plock (Altoona, Iowa) had another big night. The two tallied a combined 20 kills on 41 attempts with Plock hitting .389. Senior Paige Aspinwall (Maple Grove, Minn.)  tallied a team-high 14 assists for the Bulldogs. 
 
Eastern Washington (2-3) was paced by Nicoletta Capizzi's 10 kills on 16 attempts. 
 
The Bulldogs took an early 6-2 lead in the first set and built upon that later with eight-straight points behind Kylee Macke's (Ankeny, Iowa) serving to take the set, 22-15.
 
The Bulldogs struggled early in the second set and briefly trailed the Eagles, 3-0. Drake took back the lead, 6-5, as Aspinwall helped the team take the lead with six assists. From there, the Bulldogs continued to outplay the Eagles and take the second set, 25-22.
 
The final set was close throughout. The Bulldogs took an early lead but the Eagles quickly rallied with six-straight points to tie the match at 12-12. Bush and freshman Michele Rabbitt (Canton, Ohio) lead the team with a combined six kills in the final set including the Bulldogs' last three kills of the evening. 
 
The Bulldogs continue play at the Drake Invitational Saturday at 11 a.m. against Milwaukee and 5 p.m. against Saint Louis at the Knapp Center.