CHICAGO, Ill. - The Drake University volleyball team was impressive in ending its regular season with eight straight points to cap a 3-1 win at Loyola Sunday afternoon. Drake secured the No. 2 seed at next week's Missouri Valley Conference tournament with the win.

The second-place finish in the league standings matches the highest in program history and third-ever second-place finish. The last was in 1996.
 
Drake (13-6, 11-5 MVC) took the match by set scores of 24-26, 25-21, 25-19, 25-22. The match appeared to be on the cusp of going to a fifth set with the Bulldogs trailing 22-17 in the fourth set. However, the Bulldogs went on an 8-0 run to close the set and earn the four-set victory. Emily Plock had three kills and a block during that span, while Gillian Gergen added two blocks. The pair teamed up on a block to end the match as Kylee Macke's serving during the run kept Loyola out of its offense. 
 
Plock finished with 22 kills on 44 attempts to hit .432, while Haley Bush added 17 kills and five blocks. The Bulldogs' defense was dominant in the middle with a season-high 16 blocks as Gergen had seven, while freshman Kacie Rewerts matched a career-best with eight. Lindsey Pliapol continued her strong play with three blocks, while Plock and setter Caitlyn Smith both had three blocks.
 
The effort held Loyola (9-8, 8-8 MVC) to .145 hitting despite four Ramblers posting double figures in kills. Drake's defense forced Loyola into 34 attacking errors, the most by a Drake opponent this season.
 
The win secured the Bulldogs the No. 2 seed at next week's MVC Tournament in Normal, Ill. The Bulldogs open tournament action Thursday, April 1, against No. 7 UNI at 5 p.m. The Bulldogs' won both regular-season meetings against the Panthers.