The Drake University volleyball team won a pair of matches on the first day of the Jackrabbit Classic in Brookings, S.D.
 
The Bulldogs (4-3) opened the day with a 3-0 sweep of Idaho before pushing past Southeastern Louisiana, 3-2, in five sets in the nightcap.
 
Lindsey Pliapol led Drake over Idaho with 16 kills on 38 attempts as Drake cruised by set scores of 25-12, 25-11, 25-21. Emily Plock added 10 kills on 19 attempts while Caitlyn Smith fed the hitters with 22 assists.
 
Drake outblocked the Vandals, 8-2, in total blocks as Kacie Rewerts had four block assists while Maddie Holt and Haley Bush each had three. Those efforts held Idaho to just 0.029 hitting.
 
The Bulldogs had to work harder in their evening match as Southeastern Louisiana took the Bulldogs to five sets. However, Drake dominated the fifth set, 15-7, to end the day with the win.
 
Southeastern won the first set, 25-22, but Drake stormed back with 25-20 and 25-18 wins in the second and third sets, respectively. Southeastern took the fourth set, 25-21, to force the fifth set.
 
Mariana Rodrigues led the Bulldogs off the bench with a team-high 22 kills in the win on 48 attempts. Haley Bush and Ashlynn Kuhn each added 11 kills while Plock had nine. Maddie Holt led that offense in the win with 44 assists and Kylee Macke added 24 kills on defense and had three aces serving.
 
The Bulldogs return to action Saturday to take on the host, South Dakota State, for the Jackrabbit Classic title at 1 p.m.